BRADENTON, Fla. — The Pittsburgh Pirates are closing in on an opening day roster that may be the most left-handed in their history.

The starting rotation is dominated by left-handers — and with more (Tom Gorzelanny, Sean Burnett) likely on the way. The bullpen will be heavily left-handed, too. The opening day lineup figures to have at least four left-handed hitters.

Maybe they figured that, after 13 consecutive losing seasons, going heavily left-handed was the right way to go.

The Pirates still had 35 players in camp Monday, 10 more than they'll take into Milwaukee for next Monday's opener. But, unless there is an unexpected development this week, the Pirates shape up like this for 2006:

PITCHERSStarting RotationLHP Oliver Perez: Is he the 239-strikeout ace of the staff of 2004, or the inconsistent, laundry cart-kicking starter of a year ago who couldn't handle adversity? He won't turn 25 until midseason, but this is a pivotal year in the career of what 12 months ago looked to be the Pirates' No. 1 starter for the long term. However, manager Jim Tracy said Monday that none of the Pirates' left-handed starters figure to be strikeout pitchers.

Quick stat: Had 142 fewer strikeouts in 2005 than in 2004 but only 11 fewer walks.

LHP Zach Duke: Pirates can only hope their 2005 phenom's poor spring training is a minor glitch. He looked like the real deal in 2005 (8-2, 1.81 ERA) but, as GM Dave Littlefield said, teams have had considerable time to scout him.

Quick stat: Left-handed batters (.146 average) might as well not even bother to go to the plate against him.

LHP Paul Maholm: In 2005, Maholm (3-1, 2.18) was Zach Duke with six fewer weeks in the majors. If he and Duke can rival 2005 in 2006, the Pirates' streak of 13 consecutive losing seasons could end.

Quick stat: Had as many hits (2, in 15 at-bats) as opposing batters did in 23 at-bats against him.

RHP Ian Snell: Pirates think he can be their 2006 answer to Duke and Maholm. Has the liveliest fastball, and off-field persona, of the Pirates' young starters.

Quick fact: First, and only, career win came against Roger Clemens on Sept. 19.

RHP Brandon Duckworth: Once a top Phillies prospect, he revived his career with a solid Pirates spring training and figures to get the No. 5 starter's job over Victor Santos.

Quick stat: His .211 career average is only four points lower than that of former Pirates infielder Mario Mendoza.

BullpenLHP Mike Gonzalez: With Jose Mesa gone, he gets the chance to be the Pirates' closer.

Quick fact: Of the Pirates' top 10 career saves leaders, only No. 10 Ramon Hernandez (39 saves) was a left-hander.

LHP Damaso Marte: Returns to Pirates, for whom he pitched briefly in 2001, after being left-handed setup man for World Series champion White Sox.

Quick stat: Had a 1.42 ERA last season when pitching on at least a day's rest, but a 7.24 ERA when pitching with no rest.

LHP John Grabow: Pirates talk as if he's one of top left-handed setup men in the majors, but his career ERA is nearly 5.00.

Quick stat: Is 1-of-8 in career save opportunities.

RHP Salomon Torres: Maybe those four years he was out of pro ball from 1998-2001 were beneficial: His 94 We innings pitched last season were the most in the majors.

RHP Roberto Hernandez: At 41, he will be Gonzalez's mentor. Gonzalez can only hope his opponents' road batting average is as good as Hernandez's .168 of last season.

RHP Ryan Vogelsong: Was much better last season as a long reliever (4.43 ERA) than he was as a starter in 2004 (6-13, 6.50), but batters hit .291 against him before the All-Star break.RHP Giovanni Carrara: Reliable setup man (7-4, 3.93 ERA) for manager Jim Tracy with Dodgers last season. Quick stat: Pitched two or more innings in 13 of 72 appearances.

POSITION PLAYERSCatchersRyan Doumit (Bats: switch): Hit 90 points lower (.255) with Pirates than at Triple-A Indianapolis. Quick stat: First homer of last season was off Curt Schilling — but it was in Triple-A, while Schilling was on a minor league rehab assignment.

Humberto Cota (Bats: right): Pirates need either Cota or Doumit to step forward and become their starter. Quick stat: Had 31 stolen bases in the minors, but has none in majors.

Infielders1B Sean Casey (Bats: left): Known as "The Mayor" because he was so popular in Cincinnati, he has a one-year deal to play in hometown Pittsburgh following eight seasons with the Reds. Pirates need him to be the Casey of 2004 (24 homers) rather than that of 2005 (9 homers).

Quick stat: His .274 career average against Pirates is his lowest against any NL Central opponent.

2B Jose Castillo (Bats: right): At age 25, Pirates think he's ready to emerge as one of the game's premier middle infielders.

Quick stat: Despite reputation as a slick fielder, his career .978 fielding average ranks only 10th among Pirates second basemen who have played 100 or more games.

SS Jack Wilson (Bats: right): He's not ranked among ESPN The Magazine's Top 25 major league shortstops, yet the Pirates gave him a nearly $22 million contract extension.

Quick stat: His .977 career fielding average is the best ever for a Pirates everyday shortstop and trails only Mike Benjamin's .982 for players with 100 or more career games played.

3B Joe Randa (Bats: right): He was the Pirates' 3B in 1997, the only season since 1992 in which they've been a division title contender.

Quick stat: He is one of only three AL players to score six runs in a game, with Kansas City in 2004.

Utility Freddy Sanchez (Bats: right): Quick stat: Hit .359 in 35 games as the Pirates' leadoff hitter last season.

Utility Jose Hernandez (Bats: right): One of the players in the Aramis Ramirez trade of 2003 returns after being a non-roster player in camp. Was a solid bench man for Tracy with the Dodgers in 2004 (13 homers in 211 at-bats).

OutfieldersJason Bay (Bats: right): With 58 homers and 183 RBIs in his first two full seasons, is the new face of the Pirates franchise.

Quick stat: His 82 extra-base hits last season tied with Adam Comorosky (1930) for the third-most in a Pirates season. The top two were Willie Stargell (90, 1973) and Kiki Cuyler (87, 1925).

Chris Duffy (Bats: left): Pirates only hope he wasn't a part-year wonder (.341 in 39 games) like Adrian Brown and Tike Redman once were.

Quick stat: If only the Pirates can get him to July — he hit .364 in that month last season.

Jeromy Burnitz (Bats: left): Pirates will be his fifth team in four seasons, and they can only hope he hits better for them than he did against them (.227 average vs. Pirates in 322 career at-bats).

Craig Wilson (Bats: right): After missing most of last season with two hand injuries, he moves from the everyday lineup to the bench — that is, if he's not moved to another team by opening day.

Quick stat: His 11 career pinch-hit homers are the third-most among active players.

Jody Gerut (Bats: left): After needing reconstructive knee surgery, Pirates hope he can again be the power threat he was with Indians in 2003 (22 homers).

Quick stat: At least he's away from Angel Stadium, where he's an .065 career hitter.