Each weekday until pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Bradenton, Fla., Post-Gazette baseball writers Bill Brink and Stephen J. Nesbitt will deliver a primer on a player or two on the Pirates’ 40-man roster. The countdown will rank players in order of impact and importance to the Pirates’ chances in 2017, plus their on-field abilities, off-field concerns and the likelihood of their inclusion on the active roster on opening day April 3 in Boston and beyond.
Jared Hughes, RHP
Bats/throws: R/R
Height/weight: 6-foot-7, 245 pounds
Age: 31 (turns 32 July 4)
How acquired: Drafted by the Pirates in the fourth round in 2006 out of Cal State-Long Beach.