PITTSBURGH -- Broken bones are nothing new for Clay Holmes. Growing up with two brothers, he said he dealt with broken wrists and a broken leg resulting from bike accidents and trampoline mishaps. ¡°Typical boys doing stupid things,¡± as he put it.

So, Holmes¡¯ goal was not simply to recover from the right foot fracture sustained during Spring Training, an injury that would have put him on the injured list if Opening Day had taken place as originally scheduled on March 26. Holmes wanted to come out of the rehabilitation process as a better pitcher. In that regard, the last four months without baseball worked in Holmes¡¯ favor.

¡°Time was definitely on my side this time. I didn¡¯t really have to rush things,¡± Holmes said Saturday. ¡°I got to work on some stuff I brought into Spring Training. It turned out to be a very positive thing for me.¡±

The Pirates¡¯ athletic training staff put together a plan that kept Holmes¡¯ arm in motion, even when he was off his feet. In the final days of Spring Training, he would kneel on the grass and throw. When he could walk in a boot, he threw with less pressure on his right foot. When he got out of the boot, he continued training at the Pirates¡¯ facility in Bradenton, Fla., with bullpen coach Justin Meccage.

Specifically, Holmes worked to improve the way his right foot -- the one with the fractured fibula -- came off the rubber. Unusual as the circumstances may have been, the rehab process allowed him to focus even more on that specific part of his delivery. His hope is that more consistency in that regard will lead to a more reliable release point, which will lead to improved command, which will lead to better results.

¡°He¡¯s in a good place right now where he feels like he has control over his body, and that¡¯s something he really wanted to emphasize as he was coming back,¡± pitching coach Oscar Marin said.

Holmes worked a perfect, 11-pitch third inning in Friday¡¯s intrasquad game. Pirates manager Derek Shelton said they haven¡¯t settled on a specific role for the former starting-pitching prospect who¡¯s now a full-time reliever. The Pirates believe the right-hander has the stuff to be an impact arm out of the bullpen, but he needs to harness his arsenal to prove it.

¡°The stuff is there, but it¡¯s just a matter of consistency ¡­ whether it¡¯s new ways to use my stuff, the pitch usage, definitely I think there¡¯s some ways I can tweak that,¡± Holmes said. ¡°Understanding what my best pitches are, but also maybe my best strike-percentage pitches, pitches that I can go to when I¡¯m behind in the count, besides maybe the sinker. So I think not only with some of the delivery things, but pitch usage-wise, knowing when I can throw my best pitches will be key to maintaining success and being consistent.¡±

Camp notes
? Outfielder Socrates Brito reported to camp on Saturday at PNC Park. Brito had been absent from the Pirates¡¯ first week of summer workouts after testing positive for COVID-19. Brito and relief prospect Blake Cederlind have given Pittsburgh permission to publicly confirm their positive tests.

It¡¯s unclear if Brito was symptomatic or how severe his symptoms might have been. Shelton said the Pirates will ease the 27-year-old back into action gradually. Brito took part in defensive drills and batting practice on Saturday afternoon but didn¡¯t play in the Bucs¡¯ 7 p.m. intrasquad game.

¡°We¡¯ll let our medical guys assess him, see how he feels, see how he feels tomorrow after moving around, because he¡¯s been sitting in a hotel room,¡± Shelton said. ¡°Just slowly, nothing that we would risk some sort of other injury with him coming back, just see where his body is at.¡±

? The Pirates split up for a 3 1/2-inning intrasquad game on Saturday night. Right-hander Mitch Keller cruised through three innings before four straight hitters reached to end the scrimmage. Adam Frazier singled, stole second and moved to third on a base hit by Colin Moran, then Jacob Stallings walked to load the bases and Phillip Evans drew a run-scoring walk.

In his first three innings, Keller allowed two hits with one strikeout and a double-play grounder to end the third. Left-hander Miguel Del Pozo pitched such an efficient first inning for Team Gold that he recorded four outs to make sure he hit his pitch count. Reliever Geoff Hartlieb pitched the final two innings for Team Gold, allowing only one hit -- a JT Riddle single -- and striking out two batters.

? Pittsburgh¡¯s infielders made several nice plays in Saturday¡¯s game after a similarly sharp showing on Friday afternoon. Cole Tucker and Frazier turned a pair of double plays for Team Gold. Team Black shortstop Kevin Newman made a strong play going to his right and turned a 6-3 double play behind Keller. And Jos¨¦ Osuna laid out to snag a fly ball in foul territory.

¡°We really executed some pitches we had to execute, so all around been very happy with it,¡± Shelton said. ¡°I think we¡¯ve looked sharp. They¡¯ve done a nice job.¡±

• Shelton praised the work of Jeremy Bleich, the former pitcher and current analytics staffer who has been serving as the Pirates¡¯ home-plate umpire. Shelton was also pleased to address one issue from Friday¡¯s first intrasquad game: Shelton dug a fanny pack out of his locker on Saturday, a gift from one of his former players, and Bleich stuffed it with baseballs so he didn¡¯t have to call to the dugout every time he needed a new one.

¡°He¡¯s been really good. Like, really good,¡± Shelton said. ¡°We can determine [electronically] what strikes and balls are, and he¡¯s done a really good job calling balls and strikes.¡±