Veteran Chris Owings has inside track on becoming a super-utility man for Pirates

When Derek Shelton was asked about potential backups at shortstop, second base and third base, the Pittsburgh Pirates manager kept mentioning the name of a non-roster invitee to spring training.

That Chris Owings can play all three infield positions, as well as several others, is the primary reason why he’s a candidate to make the Opening Day roster as a super-utility player. Shelton said Owings is “definitely in a competitive spot.”

“He 100% fits that role,” Shelton said. “As we’ve talked about the previous three years, guys that can bounce, especially guys that can bounce and play in the middle — he can play on both sides of the ball in the middle — and then he can play center field. So it’s really important for us to be able to have that.”

It’s a role Owings has learned to relish, dating to his early days with the Arizona Diamondbacks. A first-round pick out of Gilbert (S.C.) High School in 2009 (No. 41 overall), versatility became his calling card.

“It’s nice because it’s what I’ve been doing my whole career,” Owings said. “The past couple years, the ability to bounce around as a player has helped the cause. No matter what team you’re on, it’s always valuable to have somebody like that on the team.”

Owings made himself more valuable in Sunday’s 5-2 win over the Minnesota Twins, cranking an Aaron Sanchez curveball 357 feet for an opposite-field, two-run home run to right-center in the sixth inning. Owings is batting .286 (2 for 7) with a double, a homer and three RBIs in four Grapefruit League games.

A big blast by Chris Owings! pic.twitter.com/a3yFQTmHxX

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) March 5, 2023

Primarily a middle infielder, Owings has played every position but catcher and first base. And he is open to playing first, a spot he played in a spring training game earlier in his career. But he has no interest in being a Pirates position player who can serve as the emergency catcher.

“I saw that whole thing where he had to get back there,” Owings said, referring to Josh VanMeter catching an inning at Cincinnati last May after backup Andrew Knapp was ejected and starter Roberto Perez suffered a season-ending hamstring injury. “That was wild. I don’t know. I’m not volunteering to get back there anytime soon.”

Owings brings a better bat than VanMeter, with a .239/.287/.366 slash line in his 10-year career. Owings led the majors with 11 triples in 2016, and he had the best season of his career by slashing .268/.299/.442 with 25 doubles, 12 home runs and 51 RBIs the following year. After spending his first six seasons in Arizona, Owings has bounced from Kansas City to Boston to Colorado to Baltimore.

Owings batted .107 (6 for 56) in 26 games for the Orioles last season. He signed with the New York Yankees six days later and played at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before becoming a free agent and signing with the Pirates.

Although the Orioles were 22-31 when Owings was released, he saw signs of Baltimore’s turnaround brewing. The Orioles improved from 52-110 in 2021 to 83-79 last season, and Owings believes the Pirates are poised to improve after back-to-back 100-loss seasons.

“I wasn’t there to see the whole thing out, but you could kind of get the feel of it from Opening Day,” Owings said. “I think we lost to Tampa on Opening Day, but it was a different feel. I’ve been on a couple bad teams, you know, but you get that vibe of, ‘Hey, we’re in this thing.’ When April went on, we were in ballgames. … You get that momentum, and it’s like as the season went on, the guys were like, ‘OK, we can play with anybody in this league.’ Guys started getting confidence. When that happens, the sky’s the limit. The team starts meshing, starts clicking.”

The Pirates have young players at third base in Ke’Bryan Hayes and shortstop in Oneil Cruz, as well as the trio of second basemen in Ji Hwan Bae, Rodolfo Castro and Tucupita Marcano, and Owings is willing to back up any and all of them. He’s also capable of playing any of the three outfield spots and even has pitched.

“The type of player I am, just going out and playing hard, all that equates to going out there and doing what you can to be prepared,” Owings said. “I’m excited for this opportunity, I really am.”