Taillon to begin rehab assignment with Double-A Altoona

Jameson Taillon will return to game action less than three weeks after undergoing surgery to treat testicular cancer.

The Pirates confirmed Saturday night that Taillon, who threw two bullpen sessions in Atlanta earlier this week, will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Altoona Sunday in Erie.



Yeudy Garcia was listed as the Curve's probable starter against Erie Saturday night, but Altoona general manager Derek Martin confirmed to DKPittsburghSports.com that Taillon will pitch.

Taillon will start against Erie Sunday at 1:35 p.m., and Clint Hurdle said no pitch count has been set for his return to the mound.

The Pirates’ right-handed pitcher was cleared for light baseball workouts last Monday, including light jogging on the field and playing catch. He traveled with the Pirates to Atlanta this week and threw a pair of bullpen sessions of 25 and 35 pitches.

It was the first time he threw all four of his pitches in a competitive environment since having surgery at Allegheny General Hospital on May 8.

Results from that surgery confirmed the cancer diagnosis, and all signs since have been encouraging. Results from blood work taken Monday cleared Taillon to continue working toward a return to baseball.

"It puts things in perspective I guess, but for me I really want to return to normalcy,” Taillon told reporters in Atlanta on Tuesday. “I know it’s everyone’s job to talk about it, but I want to get to a point where we’re not talking about it, I’m not the center of attention, I make my headlines pitching.”

He was 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in six starts with the Pirates this season.

The 25-year-old started 18 games for the Pirates in 2016, finishing with a 5-4 record. Prior to that, though, the former No. 2 overall draft pick had a difficult time getting on the pitching mound.

Taillon missed the 2014 season following Tommy John surgery and then missed all of 2015 with lingering effects of that surgery. He then underwent surgery for a sports hernia, and finally reached the major leagues last June, finishing with a 5-4 record, a 3.38 ERA and 85 strikeouts against 17 walks in 104 innings.