Column: For Pirates, competition catching on ⁴⁹

First pitch from Jeff Locke to the Astros’ Robbie Grossman came amid sunny skies, 84 degrees. — DEJAN KOVACEVIC

BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC

BRADENTON, Fla. — Let’s be honest: Tony Sanchez has no chance.

The Pirates’ opening day catcher will be Francisco Cervelli, acquired over the offseason from the Yankees with a stated aim of being the starter. The backup will be veteran Chris Stewart. And even in the minors, the prospect darling of the day is Elias Diaz, whose talent is so rich that no less an authority than Manny Sanguillen labels him “our guy … soon … you will see.”

All of which should mean that the franchise’s once-prized 2009 first-round draft pick might as well be sitting with the seagulls in McKechnie Field’s cheap seats.

“I know, right?” Sanchez was telling me with a broad smile this morning. “No chance.”

Nope. None.

Oh, except for this, maybe: Including the Pirates’ 13-7 loss to the Astros today, he’s 8 for 15 with a home run, two doubles and five RBIs. And infinitely more important given his history, he’s been sound defensively, with both the glove and the arm.

“Really, really good,” A.J. Burnett said.

As for the confidence, well, just give the young man a listen once I get done poking fun at some self-inflicted scratches under his eyes …

Pretty impressive, I’m betting you’d agree. The poise, not the face.

It’s one thing to aim for a roster spot. It’s another to aim for the starter’s job. And it’s on a whole special level to size up the rest of the field by assessing that they’re not on par with the predecessor at the position, Russell Martin. Even if that’s completely true.

Sanchez always has been a bit silly. Still is. His Twitter account is one of the jewels of social media. At the same time, it’s clear he’s matured, he’s different.

As Neal Huntington observed, “Tony’s on a mission. He wants to make our lives difficult, which is a great thing.”

And get this from Clint Hurdle in his postgame media session: “I would think that it would be an interesting concept for us to carry three catchers. That would be very interesting. I won’t say it’s at the top of my list. I won’t say it’s at the bottom of my list. But you’ve got to love the things Tony’s brought to camp this spring, the way he’s receiving the ball, blocking the ball, throwing the ball and swinging the bat.”

The third catcher thing isn’t a joke. I caught up with Hurdle later. In addition to reminding that Sanchez having some small experience at first base, the manager added that Stewart is having hamstring trouble and that Sanchez’s bench bat would take priority in this instance.

Imagine that.

And that isn’t just referencing Sanchez.

The near-universal outlook on this camp had been that the roster as a whole, the rotation order, the bullpen priorities, even the everyday lineup were essentially etched, and all that remained was stretching out some limbs and packing up for Cincinnati.

I loved the way Bob Walk described it as we watched batting practice today: “People keep asking me, ‘Which minor-leaguer do you think could make the team or help us?’ And my answer is, ‘None, Zero. Nobody.’ Not this team out here. If you aren’t a big-leaguer, you aren’t making it. Things have changed.”

He’s right, of course. But that hasn’t prevented others from pleasantly surprising management in the early going, to the point that Huntington, his lieutenants and Clint Hurdle genuinely will face what the GM called ‘some challenging decisions’ as opening day approaches:

• The most challenging is shaping up in the pen, where Arquimedes Caminero, a 26-year-old righty plucked from the Marlins this winter, has struck out a team-high nine over six relief innings. His fastball is clocking 98 mph, and this with an effortless motion, and he’s putting it where he wants. To boot, he’s out of options, which means the Pirates can’t send him to the minors without risking that another team will claim him off waivers.

I don’t get the impression — at all — that they’ll let that happen.

“He’s got the velocity, no question,” pitching coach Ray Searage was saying. “But he’s also got an aptitude, a really good idea of what he wants to do out there. Smart kid. His slider, his cutter still need some improvement. But his fastball and his ability to pitch to both sides of the plate … he’s been really good.”

• If Caminero stays, it’s possible that 2014 folk hero John Holdzkom will be optioned to Class AAA Indianapolis. Or even Jared Hughes, who’s coming off a terrific 2014 headlined by a 1.09 rate of walks and hits per inning pitched, as well as a 2.69 ratio of groundouts to flyouts.

Crazy, right?

“You just do your job,” Hughes said. “Nothing changes.”

• Jeff Locke, who was tagged for four runs and seven hits over three innings by a blah Houston travel squad today, did himself no favors in vying with Vance Worley for the fifth starter’s job, at least not statistically. If Locke loses out, that presents a dilemma: If he’s in the pen, the pen might not be at its best because of his inexperience with the role. If he’s waived and claimed, the recent loss of Brandon Cumpton to Tommy John surgery leaves the Pirates pretty much grasping if they need an emergency starter.

“I’m not focused on anything other than preparing myself for the season, like I usually would,” Locke said. “You don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes, and I don’t make any of the decisions. I’m just going out there and preparing myself to pitch as well as I can.”

• Throw Jung-Ho Kang in this mix, too. Sure, he’s been guaranteed a spot, but his presence has coincided — and I use the term literally — with Neil Walker batting .412, including two more hits and a three-run blast onto the elevated boardwalk above right field today.

That’s not to suggest Walker is performing with any extra edge, but it at least makes for some fun dialogue in the context of the Pirates’ clear reluctance to engage him in meaningful extension talks since adding Kang.

“No big deal,” Walker said of his bomb. “It’s spring training.”

Yep. And for the most part, it’s still following the script. Actually, in the broader scope, it’s been downright uneventful, with only Andrew McCutchen’s recent absence raising so much as an eyebrow. McCutchen has what team officials are calling a ‘lower-body injury’ in borrowing from the hockey parlance that Huntington has joked in the past he’d like to use. But Cutch was taking batting practice and shagging a bit today, so that isn’t seen as serious.

“Taking it slow. No point rushing it,” he said. “Rather safe than sorry.”

To hear Hurdle, the push from some of the more surprising players has injected welcome tension into the setting: “We felt confident that we had a lot of the right people in place. We also felt that we had a few openings, and we did feel that the competition for those spots could get very interesting with the personnel involved. Now, we’re seeing some of that. And yeah, it’s always fun to put men out on the field and watch what they’re able to bring.”

So he’s saying there’s a chance.