Cervelli 'very close' to return from DL

Francisco Cervelli looked like his usual jovial self Friday afternoon, laughing and smiling between batting practice swings and fielding ground balls at PNC Park.

He's hoping the sense of normalcy returns Saturday and for the rest of the season. After experiencing dizziness, headaches and a fever in Milwaukee last Tuesday, Cervelli was placed on the seven-day disabled list with post-concussion symptoms.

Those issues could have been a product of the sinus problem he has dealt with since April, or from the concussion he suffered June 6, but he's not focused on the cause. Cervelli wants to find a way to get back on the field, and stay there, for the Pirates as soon as possible.



"It’s weird, man. I’ve been having problems since April with the sinuses and fevers, and it’s been raining like crazy, so I don’t know," Cervelli said Friday afternoon. "It’s a little frustrating, but I can’t concentrate on the problem. I’ve got to concentrate on the solution. We have to move forward and get better."

Cervelli was eligible to come off the disabled list Tuesday, but head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk said the Pirates' catcher was still dealing with post-concussion symptoms.

He was cleared for a light workout, though, and the intensity has increased since. After the field cleared from batting practice and infield work, Cervelli stuck around to run sprints in the outfield with Tomczyk watching closely.

He said he's "very close" to a return, but knows that's not his call. Cervelli must be cleared by doctors and Tomczyk before any decision is made. There is confidence the sinus issue — which Cervelli had not experienced prior to this season — is being contained.

After Cervelli was placed on the disabled list last week, Tomczyk told reporters that the Pirates’ medical staff viewed Cervelli’s health issues as an “acute-on-chronic” problem, meaning an acute exacerbation of a chronic condition, and Cervelli was being evaluated for “post-viral” symptoms.

Tomczyk declined to give any indication as to what the virus was. Cervelli missed a game against the Mets during the first week of June with what he said was a sinus issue, and Tomczyk said that was part of an illness Cervelli had been dealing with since April.

However, Tomczyk suggested Wednesday that the illness is no longer something the medical staff is focused on.

“The doctors’ primary concern is the health of the head,” Tomczyk said, “and the concussion that he sustained on June 6. … There’s a lot of symptoms that viruses might create or present such as headaches, such as dizziness that could be similar symptoms that are involved with concussive symptoms. That’s why we wanted to get him back into our hands with our group of experts that know him the best.”

But the timing of the symptoms is particularly frustrating. He seemed to have it under control until May 24 in Atlanta, when there was a three-hour rain delay before the Braves defeated the Pirates.

It worsened when Cervelli suffered the concussion on a foul ball off his face mask on June 6. He was placed on the disabled list and reinstated one week later. Then the symptoms popped up again.

"Nah, I wasn’t scared," Cervelli said. "I’ve been through so many things, man. I know it’s just a couple months, couple months or whatever. But I get back 100 percent again. I thought it was just a normal virus, but after I got hit in the jaw everything started feeling different."

Cervelli is batting .250 with three home runs and 21 RBI in 51 games this season. Chris Stewart is starting behind the plate Friday against the Giants, and Elias Diaz continues to get plenty of work.

The Pirates will approach Cervelli's return with extreme caution after he landed back on the disabled list so quickly. They'll monitor his health following such an extensive workout, much like they did when Jameson Taillon was nearing a return.

But Cervelli said there's no reason to believe he won't wake up Saturday morning feeling well.

"I’m looking forward to getting back and helping the team win the division," Cervelli said. "That’s the goal."