Good article from Buster Olney today on the Pirates depth.
http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/buster-olney/post/_/id/9231. Since it's an Insider article I'll post it below.
The transformation of the Pittsburgh Pirates has been gradual, encompassing the larger part of a decade. The growth has been steady, and the organization is now well past the time when the Pirates had only a handful of front-line players and almost nothing in the way of reinforcements. Year by year, the Pirates take on the shape of the St. Louis Cardinals, who have been the model for Plan Bs over the past 15 years, with veterans and young players stepping in seamlessly when needed. The Cardinals' front office has drafted the right guys, or picked the right veterans to support them.
And so it goes now for the Pirates. Andrew McCutchen is homegrown, and so are Neil Walker, Gerrit Cole, Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco and Pedro Alvarez, and time and again, the veterans added in the Pirates' modest free-agent signings or trades have flourished, from A.J. Burnett to Francisco Liriano to Edinson Volquez. Increasingly, Pittsburgh is seen as a place where a free agent can go to thrive, especially among pitchers, and through this perception, the Pirates get better, the roster deeper.
As Pittsburgh has constructed its roster for 2015, it has built in alternatives, maybe the best the Pirates have had since the advent of free agency in the 1970s. Not only will manager Clint Hurdle have a lot of options to rest his every-day players, but he also will have the flexibility to make adjustments if any player is struggling.
Pedro Alvarez is penciled in as the first baseman, for example, after a throwing problem forced his move away from third base. Based on what they saw last season after Alvarez began working out at first, there is confidence in the organization that his transition to the new spot will go smoothly. Kevin Young, a longtime Pirate and a right-handed thrower who made a mid-career switch to first base, will be among those who will work with Alvarez this spring. Yes, there will be a challenge for Alvarez to spin and make a throw to second base for a forceout or start a double-play attempt, but he has looked at ease with the glove work.
Pedro Alvarez is moving to first base this season. If Alvarez has a problem, however, there are safety nets all around him. Hurdle could try Andrew Lambo, a 26-year-old first baseman and a left-handed hitter who has developed in the Pirates' system. They could use Corey Hart, who was signed this winter after playing just 68 games for the Mariners last season. They could try Sean Rodriguez, the longtime utilityman acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays who has played 49 games at first base in his career. Tony Sanchez is likely to get some reps at first base, and maybe Francisco Cervelli as well. Alvarez could get back to what he has been in the past, a slugger who mashes 35 homers and carries the team for a few weeks at a time while hitting for a low average; if he doesn't, Hurdle has other options.
Josh Harrison is likely to be the third baseman, but if the Pirates need to move him to another spot -- say right field, if Gregory Polanco's second season in the big leagues sinks into some valleys -- then the Pirates could try their newly signed veteran infielder from Korea, Jung Ho Kang, whose best position is shortstop and second-best position is third base. Or Hurdle could use Rodriguez.
Jordy Mercer is the Pirates' shortstop, but Kang is an option, and so is Pedro Florimon, a good defender, and Rodriguez.
Travis Snider is part of the Pirates' outfield depth, as are Lambo and Hart, all experienced big leaguers. Pittsburgh also will have some prospects developing during the season, such as Alen Hanson, who is seen as the Pirates' sixth-best prospect by MLB.com.
After signing a two-year deal with Pittsburgh before the 2013 season, Russell Martin played a lot for a catcher (127 games). He had a good season, posting a .327 on-base percentage with 36 extra-base hits, helping the Pirates to their first postseason appearance in more than two decades. In 2014, he played slightly less, 111 games, partly because of a hamstring injury and partly out of design, and he performed better, batting .290 and improving his OPS by 129 points.
Martin has moved on, but the Pirates took something away from that experience. Martin loves to play as much as possible, having had seasons earlier in his career in which he appeared in more than 150 games. But the Pirates thought he was a better player last season partly because he rested more.
It figures that with his deep roster, Hurdle will give more rest to his regulars, giving Walker a breather, or Marte, or perhaps protect Polanco against a tough left-hander on a given day (he could start Harrison in right and use Rodriguez at third).
It's not as if everything went right for the Pittsburgh lineup last season. Alvarez led the National League in homers in 2013 but took a step back last year, and Marte got off to a terrible start. McCutchen played through an injury, and Polanco had growing pains, as the Pirates expected. Yet in the second half of the season, Pittsburgh's offense began to blossom, ranking fourth in the NL in runs. Martin was an important part of the team and now he is gone, but the Pirates can reasonably expect more consistency from Marte and Walker, perhaps more from Alvarez, and from Polanco, who could be a beast at the plate someday. The rotation looks solid, supported by starting pitching depth in the minors, and the bullpen should be good again.
The Pirates were baseball's best story in 2013, but they have proved that they weren't one-year wonders, with the layers of their success deepening.