Polanco was named the Pirates' starting right fielder Monday, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Polanco was granted a vote of confidence from his manager despite a pair of disastrous seasons which have seen him hit a combined .197/.257/.374 in 92 games. The Pirates don't look set to compete this season, so they can afford to stick with their players through slumps in hopes that they recover some of their original value, but it's hard to envision the team continuing to give Polanco opportunities if he shows no improvements at the start of the campaign.

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