Joshua Palacios is in spring training with the Pittsburgh Pirates, trying to put an injury-filled season behind him and nail down an outfield role with the National League team in 2025.

Palacios entered pro baseball as a fourth-round draft choice from Auburn in 2016. But he’d been drafted before that, and making the choice to play baseball on the Plains instead of the pros was “one of the best decisions I ever made,” Palacios said.

Palacios was at San Jacinto Junior College when the Cincinnati Reds chose him in the 31st round of the baseball draft in 2014. He wanted to sign, Palacios said during an appearance on the “Bucco Bantr” podcast last week. Instead, his family helped him see it would be better in the long run to continue his baseball journey in college.

The New York Daily News’ pick as the High School Player of the Year in New York, Palacios had started his college career at Stony Brook before transferring to San Jacinto to play against tougher competition, particularly pitchers.

“High school, I got the call from the 11th round,” Palacios said, “and me and my dad talked, and it was like anything 10 or later, we’re not going to take it. So I didn’t take it. That year they called in the 31st, and I just wanted to go play pro ball, get to the Major Leagues. And I remember my dad was like, ‘Look, what’s the goal that you set for yourself?’ And I was like, ‘My goal is to be fifth round or higher.’ And he was like, ‘Are you going to give up on that goal that you set for yourself and that we made the agreement on or are you going to lock in on that and see what you’re really capable of and develop yourself to be that type of guy?’

“And I really, really, really wanted to play pro ball. I remember my dad telling me that, and then my uncle – my Uncle Ian, actually – he was like, ‘Hey, it’s a business. The later rounds, it’s more difficult. There’s less opportunity. Continue playing in college, get your education and see if you can do better and develop yourself to become better.’ And that was probably one of the best decisions I ever made.”

At Auburn, Palacios had a .385 batting average, .463 on-base average and .608 slugging percentage before a wrist injury sidelined him after 34 games in 2016.

After being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays, Palacios started his professional career with Auburn as the springboard. In his first season, Palacios played at three levels of the Toronto system – the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays at the Rookie level, Vancouver Canadians at Low-A and Lansing Lugnuts at Single-A.

Palacios found it quite different from playing at Auburn.

“The SEC, I tell people, was the closest thing I’ve experienced to the big leagues,” Palacios said. “Honestly, in some situations, the SEC had better resources than the Major Leagues, like the cages that they got, the gyms that they got, the locker rooms they got, like, decked out. Depending on what team you are in the SEC, the SEC team may be better resources than the Major Leagues. The way you’re treated — anything that was over two-and-a-half hours, I think we got a private jet, and we’d just fly to the event. No long bus rides. The bus is the craziest I’ve ever seen. We got on a bus, the bus has like captain’s chairs with hardwood floors, and I was like, ‘Nah, this is ridiculous.’ You can plug your PS5 into the TV. Everybody had their own flatscreen. Stuff that I had never seen before.

“And then you get back to the minor leagues, and it’s like you’re on these buses. Every three days, you’re traveling at night. Sometimes just sleeping on the bus, show up at the field and play, so it’s definitely a huge disparity of like SEC to pro ball.”

Palacios reached the big leagues in 2021, when he played in 13 games for the Blue Jays. The next season, he played in 29 games for the Washington Nationals.

In 2023, Palacios played in 91 games for the Pirates. He hit .239 with 10 home runs and five stolen bases in 264 plate appearances.

Last season, a spring-training calf injury carried into the season. Through May and June, Palacios rehabbed his way from Bradenton to Greensboro to Indianapolis before making his MLB debut for the season on July 4. But a hamstring injury set him back again at the end of the month.

In 2024, Palacios hit .224 in 23 games with the Pirates and .288 in 59 games in the minors.

“This offseason was really first and foremost, OK, let me get myself as healthy as possible to be able to manage a 162-game season,” Palacios said. “I usually get a little more violent, a little more reckless in the gym. This year was a little more toned down and focused on how can I be more mobile, how can I be more stable, how can my body be able to handle the output that I want to put in.”

Pittsburgh has a two-time All-Star in right field in Bryan Reynolds, although he spent most of his time in left field in 2024. The rest of the Pittsburgh outfield will look different, too, in 2025.

The Pirates plan to move Oneil Cruz from shortstop to center field, which is Palacios’ best position.

Tommy Pham figures to get the first crack at left field. The 11-year veteran hit .248 while playing for three teams in 2024.

In Pittsburgh’s Grapefruit League opener on Saturday, Palacios started in left field and batted second. He went 0-for-3 in the Pirates’ 10-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles, with former West Alabama standout Tanner Rainey picking up the pitching win in his first appearance in a Pittsburgh uniform.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.