MLB teams constantly have roster turnover. Their Opening Day rosters regularly look very different than what they end the year with. It’s a 162-game season, so plenty of transactions and roster moves are made. That means that some once-notable players get swept up in the action. The Pittsburgh Pirates have had plenty of players come and go, ones that were once notable have started the year with the Bucs, however their tenures with the Pirates are mostly forgotten. With Opening Day just around the corner, let’s look at some players you may have forgotten the Pirates once had on their Opening Day roster.
Corey Hart
The Pirates were well familiar with Corey Hart before he made the Pirates’ 2015 Opening Day roster. He spent the first nine years of his MLB career with the division rival Milwaukee Brewers from 2004 through 2012. Between those nine seasons, Hart batted .276/.334/.476 with a 117 wRC+, and 154 home runs. The outfielder/first baseman also made two All-Star games in 2008 and 2010.
Hart then missed the 2013 season due to knee surgery. He returned to the diamond in 2014, this time with the Seattle Mariners, but put up just a 68 wRC+ over 68 games. After the 2014 campaign, the Pirates signed Hart to a one-year contract worth $2.5 million. The Bucs primarily used the former division rival slugger as a pinch hitter, but he struggled in a small sample size. Hart only collected a dozen hits over 57 plate appearances. He was placed on the IL in late June with a shoulder injury, but never made it back to the field. Unfortunately, Hart’s career came to an unceremonious end with the Pirates after 2015.
Jarrod Dyson
Jarrod Dyson is mostly remembered for his phenomenal speed and base running, and excellent outfield defense with the Kansas City Royals. From his 2010 debut through 2016, Dyson only slashed .260/.325/.353 with an 86 wRC+. However, he also swiped 176 bags and had +53 defensive runs saved, primarily working as a 4th/part-time outfielder. Dyson was a key member of the Royals teams who won the AL Pennant in 2014, and the World Series in 2015.
After bouncing around with the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks in 2017 through 2019, Dyson ended up with the Pirates for the 2020 season. He signed a one-year contract worth $2 million. The speedy outfielder only stepped to the plate 55 times for the Pirates. He would collect just eight hits with four walks, and ten K’s. The Pirates were able to trade him to the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline during the shortened 2020 campaign. After 2020, Dyson ended his career returning to the Royals in 2021, and playing his final game with the Toronto Blue Jays, who claimed him off waivers later that season.
Neftali Feliz
Neftali Feliz began his career with a bang, becoming an All-Star and winning Rookie of the Year in his first full big league season with the Texas Rangers in 2010. After another solid campaign in 2011, injuries began to take their toll. The Rangers attempted to use Feliz as a starter in 2012, but would only pitch 42.2 innings. 2013 was an even less successful season, where he tallied just 4.2 innings of work. 2014 looked like a return to form for Feliz, as he owned a 1.99 ERA in 31.1 innings pitched, but things went off the rails again in 2015 when he put up an ERA over 6.00 in 48 innings with the Rangers and Detroit Tigers.
That’s when Feliz was signed by the Pirates in the 2015-2016 offseason. The former All-Star put up a solid 3.57 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 53.2 innings of work. He also struck out 28% of batters faced, albeit with a 9.6% walk rate. However, Feliz struggled the most with home runs, with a 1.68 HR/9 ratio. Unfortunately, 2016 was the last time Feliz saw an extended amount of success in the Major Leagues. He had an ERA and FIP over 5.00 with the Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals in 2017. Feliz wouldn’t resurface in the Major Leagues again until 2021, where he pitched four innings between the Philadelphia Phillies and LA Dodgers.
