If there is optimism surrounding the Pittsburgh Pirates entering spring training, it’s with the change in leadership.

The starting lineup is another story.

New Pirates manager Derek Shelton inherits a 93-loss team minus its ace pitcher, All-Star closer, veteran catcher and best all-around player when pitchers and catchers report to spring training Monday at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla.

That’s not a recipe for success.

The solutions for finding their replacements will dictate what type of season the Pirates will have and whether they are headed for a 100-loss campaign. Here are five storylines to follow this spring training.

1. Who’s in center?: Whether it was Andrew McCutchen or Starling Marte, the Pirates’ best player over the past decade was their center fielder.

After trading Marte to Arizona, the Pirates have a huge hole to fill. Not only was Marte a two-time Gold Glove winner — both when he was playing in left — but he was coming off a career year in home runs (23) and RBIs (82) and produced his second-best batting average (.295).

The Pirates signed free agents Guillermo Heredia and JT Riddle — they combined for 11 homers and 32 RBIs last season — but both appear to be primarily depth options.

When the Pirates dealt McCutchen to San Francisco, they opened spring training with Adam Frazier and Sean Rodriguez competing for the starting job in left before making multiple deals to find a suitable replacement.

They traded for Bryce Brentz and signed Daniel Nava and Michael Saunders before dealing for Corey Dickerson.

Look for the Pirates to make more moves, as this position requires a serious upgrade.

2. Battle at backstop: Catcher was the least productive position in the lineup, and the Pirates parted ways with Francisco Cervelli last August and declined an option on Elias Diaz in the offseason.

Jacob Stallings started 53 games, slashing .262/.325/.382 with six home runs and 13 RBIs. More importantly, he earned the trust of the starting rotation with his preparation and pitch calling.

But the Pirates signed Luke Maile, who spent the past three seasons with new general manager Ben Cherington in Toronto, and veteran John Ryan Murphy. So now they have some depth but not a proven starter.

Pirates catchers combined to slash .276/.334/.404 with 12 home runs and 64 RBIs last season. This trio hasn’t proven it has much pop but should be better defensively.

Whether the Pirates have a starter is another story.

3. Ready or not?: One of the biggest blunders last year was how the Pirates handled right field.

They signed Lonnie Chisenhall as a stopgap starter until Gregory Polanco could return from shoulder surgery. Chisenhall never played a game for the Pirates, and Polanco rushed back before his arm was recovered fully.

The Pirates have proclaimed Polanco ready to return this season but cautioned they could bring him along slowly. Polanco has posted photos and videos of himself on social media and appears to be in great shape.

But can he make the throws?

The Pirates got below-the-line play from their right fielders last season, with 15 home runs, 69 RBIs and only 51 extra-base hits. Only catcher and second base were less productive.

If Polanco can match his 2018 season, when he hit 23 homers with 81 RBIs, it would be a boost to the batting order and provide protection for Josh Bell.

But his left arm will be the bigger story.

4. Openers and closers: Last spring, the Pirates had one of baseball’s best closers in Felipe Vazquez and wasted no time naming Jameson Taillon the starter on Opening Day and Chris Archer for the home opener.

That seems like a lifetime ago.

Vazquez is in prison. Taillon is recovering from his second Tommy John surgery, and Archer is coming off a career-worst season in which he was 3-9 with a 5.19 ERA and 1.412 WHIP in 119 2/3 innings.

The Pirates have to hope the 31-year-old right-hander can have a bounce-back season, with a new pitching coach in Oscar Marin and possibly a change in approach. Archer is their highest-paid player and cost them a ransom in trading Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow and Shane Baz.

If not Archer, Joe Musgrove (11-12, 4.44 ERA) or Trevor Williams (7-9, 5.38) could be candidates for the openers.

Keone Kela likely will be the closer, given his history. He had 24 saves for the Texas Rangers in 2018. But Kyle Crick and Richard Rodriguez will provide competition.

The wild card? Chad Kuhl returns from Tommy John surgery and will compete for a spot in the starting rotation but is viewed as a potential high-leverage pitcher.

5. Hot-corner topic: The Pirates appear open to a spring-training competition at third base as they weren’t willing to commit to Colin Moran as an everyday player.

Moran slashed .277/.322/.429 with 13 homers and 80 RBIs in 149 games last season, but his limited defensive range remains a concern.

It could be time for top prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes to get a shot. The 23-year-old is regarded as a Gold Glove-caliber defender. It is a matter of whether his bat can catch up.

Hayes slashed .265/.336/.415 with 10 homers and 53 RBIs in 110 games with Triple-A Indianapolis last season, and the concern is whether he can hit breaking pitches.

Hayes looked good last spring, when he led the Pirates with 12 RBIs. But so did Jung Ho Kang, who hit seven homers and had 11 RBIs in spring training but batted only .169 in 65 regular-season games.

Moran is the frontrunner, but it might be only a matter of time before Hayes becomes the starter.

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