BRADENTON, Fla. - The Pirates spent the start of their offseason camp trying to do something a little different at Pirate City: make development feel bigger than a batting cage or a mound session.
What they built is the Forge High Performance Camp, a four-week stretch that blends physical work, mental training and team-building for roughly 30 prospects. It’s designed to go beyond the usual instructional setup, with the organization aiming to sharpen bodies, calm minds and create a more connected group while the players are together in one place.
Director of coaching and player development Michael Chernow said the Pirates wanted the camp to go well past on-field instruction. They’ve leaned hard into physical and mental development, while also trying to build competition and chemistry.
“We’ve been prioritizing physical development and have seen positive signal, so this offseason’s camp is an attempt at increasing the scale,” Chernow said. “To the players’ credit, they’ve been engaged in the programming and buying in to the challenge we’ve put in front of them.
“As the camp progresses, we will transition into their hitting and throwing progressions so they have clarity and a head start on their offseason priorities, with the benefit of a month of intense physical development at the onset of their offseason.”
Since Oct. 18, the prospects have been in daily weight-training and agility sessions that last nearly two hours. The work has also included sweat testing, yoga and other flexibility-focused exercises.
The afternoons bring a different kind of classroom. The sport performance staff has run sessions on nutrition and mental skills, giving players guidance on fueling their bodies and handling the mental side of performance through mindfulness training, breathing exercises and visualization.
A few of the players say that part of the camp has already started to stick.
“Many times in games, we need those reset moments,” catcher Axiel Plaz said through interpreter Juan Guerra. “I think it’s gonna help us a lot.”
“You get to know yourself better,” outfielder Derek Curiel added. “There’s more than one way to do things, and it’s finding out what works for you.”
The camp has also become a social reset of sorts. The players are all in the same place, and that matters. Pitcher Levi Sterling liked being able to lift, throw, run, eat and get through the day without ever moving his car.
Curiel said it’s been fun to have players from New York, California and the Caribbean islands all working side by side for a month. Second baseman Chris Rembert pointed to the broader idea behind it: everyone functioning as one unit.
“Meeting new people and guys I’ll be playing with throughout my career has been the biggest thing,” Rembert said. “All of us being part of one big team.”
Competition has been baked into nearly everything. The players were split into three teams - the Black Knights, Avengers and Real Steel - and scores are being tracked constantly, no matter the setting.
Third baseman Murf Gray said that changes the way the work feels.
“It makes you think, ‘When I’m lifting, what can I do to push the guys next to me to lift more weight or finish their reps?’” third baseman Murf Gray said.
The off-field challenges have kept things moving too. The group raced crew boats at Henderson Park in Sarasota this past weekend, with 11 people in each boat.
They also took part in a Pirates history scavenger hunt around Pirate City on Oct. 20.
Next up, the group will attend the Buccaneers’ game against the Falcons on Sunday and then head into paintball together the following weekend.
“I think it’s really good to do something outside of the field,” outfielder Edward Florentino said. “A lot of the time we just focus on the work.
Sometimes we forget about having fun. That’s why we’re here, right?
Working hard but still having fun.”
The Pirates intentionally pulled back a bit from the on-field grind to make room for all of it. The thinking was to create an environment that puts a spotlight on preparation, builds habits early and develops mental skills players can lean on throughout their careers.
The team also believes that if the group is tied together by competition and shared experiences, players are more likely to buy into the details that matter: body activation, breathing work and recovery.
“I think it’s awesome how we’re all here trying to get better as individuals,” pitcher Jason DeCaro said. “At the same time, it’s being structured as a team thing; we’re working to add points to our teams any way we can. I think it’s really cool how we’re trying to get better but also pushing the people around us to get better.”
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