Pittsburgh Pirates

Pirates’ Jarrod Dyson relying on work ethic, humor to lead

Since Major League Baseball's summer camps started, there has been a slow but steady stream of players opting out of the season, citing health concerns. Buster Posey, David Price and Jordan Hicks are some of the more notable players so far, and there could be more as the season progresses.

Jarrod Dyson, the Pirates’ starting center fielder, will not be one of those players. He is, well, let’s say motivated, to play.

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“Nah, I wasn’t thinking about opting out. I need my money,” he said during a Zoom call Tuesday at PNC Park.

Before you get any ideas, he was cracking a joke. A pretty good one at that. He does that a lot with Derek Shelton and his teammates to help keep the energy loose.

It wasn’t like his introductory interview after signing with the team in February, when he told reporters, quite bluntly, that he was a Pirate because there “ain’t too much out there right now.”

That might have been a shaky introduction to Dyson and Pirates fans, but in the clubhouse during spring training, it was different. He immediately fit in with the rest of the team, with many younger players gravitating to him. The Pirates were looking for a veteran presence for their young position players, and he was providing just that.

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