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And the Pirates’ NO. 5 starter is … Kevin Hart? It sure sounded that way today, listening to manager John Russell chat with reporters after the second day of spring training workouts.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Right-hander Joel Hanrahan, who’s a big part of the Pirates’ bullpen plans, will miss the start of the regular season due to a strained elbow. An MRI taken about 10 days ago showed inflammation, but no structural damage. Hanrahan will have another MRI done Tuesday and also is scheduled to visit orthopedist Dr. [...]

Right-hander Joel Hanrahan, who’s a big part of the bullpen plans, will miss the start of the season due to elbow pain. Hanrahan first was bothered by the pain in his elbow and tightness in his forearm last August, but pitched through it. It flared up again in mid-January, during minicamp. The condition did not improve, [...]

BRADENTON, Fla. — Other than Joel Hanrahan (elbow), the only “casualty” on the first day of spring training was reliever Jean Machi. The right-hander did not throw his scheduled bullpen session today. Instead, Machi was held out of workouts for what the Pirates described only as “some follow-up tests after his physical.” Machi, 28, is [...]

Neil Walker, who three years ago was switched to third base at the start of spring training, strapped on his catcher’s gear this morning at Pirate City and caught Zach Duke’s bullpen session. Another position change is not in the works, though, for the former first-round draft pick. “Just exploring my options,” Walker told me [...]

Pirates media relations director Jim Trdinich a little while ago sent me a dose of electronic sunshine.

Right-handed reliever Jeff Sues has been given a non-roster invitation to spring training. That raises the total number of players in Pirates camp to 66, including 26 non-roster guys. Sues, 26, was the Pirates’ fifth-round draft pick in 2005. Shoulder injuries limited him to eight games over the first three years of his career. In [...]

Pirates prez Frank Coonelly will hitch up his sleigh Sunday and slide over to State College for SpikesFest. The Class A team’s annual event will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Penn State Multi-Sport Facility. Right-hander Victor Black, the Pirates’ supplemental first-round pick in 2009, also is scheduled to attend. — [...]