Projecting the Pirates' 25-man wild-card roster

RHP Gerrit Cole (USA Today)

It took all 162 games, but it’s finally official: For the third year in a row, the National League wild-card game will be played at PNC Park. The Chicago Cubs and their ace Jake Arrieta will square off against the Pirates and their ace Gerrit Cole here Wednesday night.

So, here’s a stab at how the Pirates’ wild-card roster will shake out — it’ll officially be announced Wednesday morning. Scroll past the names for an explainer.

The ace, and the bullpen ...

1. Gerrit Cole — starting pitcher

2. Francisco Liriano — emergency starter

3. Joe Blanton — long reliever

4. Antonio Bastardo — lefty middle reliever

5. Arquimedes Caminero — righty middle reliever

6. Jared Hughes — righty middle reliever

7. Joakim Soria — righty late reliever

8. Tony Watson — lefty late reliever

9. Mark Melancon — closer

On the field ...

10. Francisco Cervelli — starting catcher

11. Pedro Alvarez — starting first baseman

12. Neil Walker — starting second baseman

13. Aramis Ramirez — starting third baseman

14. Jordy Mercer — starting shortstop

15. Starling Marte — starting left fielder

16. Andrew McCutchen — starting center fielder

17. Gregory Polanco — starting right fielder

Off the bench ...

18. Josh Harrison — backup IF/OF

19. Sean Rodriguez — backup 1B/OF

20. Michael Morse — backup first baseman

21. Travis Snider — backup outfielder

22. Chris Stewart — backup catcher

23. Elias Diaz — third-string catcher

24. Pedro Florimon — pinch-runner

25. Keon Broxton — pinch-runner

• Who is eligible? Anybody who was on the 40-man roster as of Aug. 31. Otherwise, a player can be added later as an injury replacement. If I’m not mistaken, all players currently on the Pirates would be eligible, since the few that were not on the 40-man on Aug. 31 could be injury replacements for Casey Sadler, Deolis Guerra and Jung Ho Kang, all of whom went on the 60-day disabled list this month.

• Pitching staff construction: The past two seasons, the Pirates have dressed nine pitchers for the wild-card game. In 2013, Liriano started and Cole was the emergency backup. In 2014, Edinson Volquez started and starters Jeff Locke and Vance Worley both dressed as backups — both potential long-relief options, and Locke in particular because the San Francisco Giants had a lefty-heavy lineup. Since Liriano would be on regular rest Wednesday, the Pirates could have him ready in case something disastrous happens to Cole. The emergency starter is the least likely player to play in this game. Well, he or the third-string catcher.

• Pitchers left out: Locke, Worley and Bobby LaFromboise. LaFromboise was on the wild-card roster last season and could realistically be on it again should the Pirates decide to drop a pinch-runner and add a 10th pitcher. Why? Because the Cubs have two left-handed sluggers in Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber. Still, I’m not sure you need a third lefty reliever out of the ‘pen here.

• Rest of roster construction: We can argue over the lineup later. What’s important here is the makeup of the bench — the guys Clint Hurdle can go to as bench bats, gloves or wheels late in a close game. Hurdle has dressed three catchers for the past two wild-cards, and he indicated the other day that this season likely will be no different. Harrison, Rodriguez and Morse are locks. Snider has plenty of big-league experience, can play two outfield positions and is a left-handed bat off the bench. Florimon and Broxton are this team’s burners. Maybe you get only one of them. That brings us to …

• The 25th man: Right now, Broxton is the 25th man on the roster. He’s probably faster than Florimon, but he’s only been in the bigs for about a week and a half. If just one pinch-runner makes the wild-card roster, it’ll be Florimon. But here’s why I’d field two burners: In a game against Arrieta, the hottest pitcher in the majors, runs will be at a premium. Anything the Pirates can do to move a runner into scoring position is worth a shot. If Broxton could swipe a bag in the seventh, or score on a shallow sac fly, he’s been a bigger help to this team, in my opinion, that the other options for the 25th and final spot. Those other options? LaFromboise, perhaps, or bench bats like Jaff Decker and Travis Ishikawa, both lefties. Ishikawa has good postseason experience, but he’s barely played the past month and isn’t likely to be a factor in a do-or-die wild-card game.