PITTSBURGH -- Wednesday was the first of what should be several games where the Pirates opted to push their originally scheduled starter back in favor of a bullpen day, giving most of the rotation another day of rest. The results were mostly favorable, outside of a three-run third when Luis Ortiz was wild and the Brewers let him inflict damage onto himself with two hit batters and a walk. As a result, the Pirates ended up losing on a frigid night at PNC Park, 3-2.

As the Pirates near the first milepost of the season with one month in the books, the action surrounding the team Wednesday raises some questions for the future that are worth a deeper look.

How common are bullpen days going to be?

Quinn Priester was originally set to pitch Wednesday but will instead go Friday, giving the 23-year-old right-hander a little more breathing time between starts. Priester, Mitch Keller and Martín Pérez were the only Pirates who tossed at least 130 innings last year, and Keller is the only one who cracked the 160 mark. Therefore, a couple extra built-in bullpen days are very much on the menu.

“We're going to try to find as many times early in the season to build in days as possible and we just felt like this is one we could build in," manager Derek Shelton said.

The Pirates are about to embark on a West Coast trip starting Friday in San Francisco, and following an off-day when they return on May 2, they are then scheduled to play 16 games in 17 days. If there is concern about the workload of pitchers like Jared Jones, that seems like a stretch for a bullpen day or spot starter.

What’s going to happen at catcher?

On Wednesday, the Pirates finally had their first two defensive caught stealings of the season, though neither was in the traditional sense. Blake Perkins was picked off by Josh Fleming and thrown out at second in the second inning, and Sal Frelick was caught stealing at home in the sixth on a successful 2-4-2 putout between Henry Davis and Jared Triolo.

Coming into the year, there were concerns about Davis handling everyday catching duties defensively, but he’s proved to be a respectable pitch framer so far with decent defensive results outside of the running game. The bat, however, has been lacking, and a 1-for-3 performance Wednesday raised his batting average to .180 and OPS to .518.

With two outs and two runners on in the ninth, Shelton opted to pinch-hit Davis with Andrew McCutchen. While McCutchen struck out, given Davis’ offensive struggles, it’s easy to see the logic in Shelton’s decision.

Meanwhile, Joey Bart has been a pleasant surprise in his brief time with his new team, and Yasmani Grandal is on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis. Grandal’s rehab is planned through the week, but when he gets back, the Pirates might need to choose between cutting Bart or optioning Davis to the Minors.

“We potentially have a decision,” said general manager Ben Cherington before the game. “We’ll see. Anything can happen any day to change that. We know baseball works in strange ways. …If we’re in that position then that’ll be a good position to be in. It just means we’re deep and strong and we’ll have to make a call.”

Where’s Paul Skenes?

Yeah, this is probably the question that is on the forefront of every Pirates fan. Where exactly is that No. 1 overall Draft pick?

Skenes tossed 4 1/3 innings and 71 pitches for Indianapolis Wednesday, both of which are the most he’s had as a professional. His build-up is continuing to progress nicely, and while there isn’t a public number for how many innings or pitches the Pirates are looking for from him before he is on the Major League radar, he is trending in the right direction.

“He just keeps getting better,” Cherington said. “We see the pitch mix coming into form. Working on efficiency, when he’s using the secondary and starting to build the pitch count up now. Not surprised that he’s having success, but more underneath that, just being intentional about what he’s doing. He’s working on things that will allow him to be a good Major League pitcher and more than just he’s trying to be a good AAA pitcher.”