BRADENTON, Fla. - The first group of pitchers during bullpen sessions today featured the heart of the Pirates' rotation. Ivan Nova, Gerrit Cole, and Jameson Taillon were grouped together for the very first bullpen session of Spring Training, with Pirates' closer Tony Watson rounding out the group. Perhaps no group is more important to the success of the 2017 team than those four pitchers.
Watson's importance is more of a smaller scale issue, with the Pirates needing him to bounce back from a poor 2016 season to lock down the late innings. But if the rotation has another year like last year, it won't matter if Watson bounces back, as there won't be many opportunities to get him the ball with the lead.