BRADENTON, Fla. - Every time I talk to a Pirates' minor league player this spring, I ask them where they are being assigned for the upcoming season. Almost all of the time I get the same answer.
"They told me to come in and compete for a job with [Insert Team Here]."
I've heard this answer before, but never so frequently. It used to be a rare response at this stage in camp. It was only two years ago that Larry Broadway told me in early March that Mitch Keller and Ke'Bryan Hayes were going to West Virginia, with no questions about competing for a job.