The Pirates' new outfield alignment was scrapped upon Starling Marté's suspension and it won't be returning once he returns.
Marté, who will begin a rehab assignment with Bradenton Sunday afternoon, will return to left field when he is eligible to be reinstated from his 80-game suspension on July 18, Clint Hurdle told reporters at PNC Park.
That will allow Andrew McCutchen, who is batting .400 since May 26, to remain in center field and Gregory Polanco will play in right.
"That’s just where he needs to fit in," Hurdle said.
The move was not made out of respect for McCutchen, according to Hurdle. He did not go into details, but thought it was best for the Pirates to keep McCutchen in center field.
The Pirates can utilize Marté in a rehab assignment for 15 days before he returns to the major leagues. He's starting in left and batting leadoff for Bradenton on Sunday against the Florida Fire Frogs, but the plan is for him not to play nine innings.
His workload will increase, and Hurdle said the plan is to send him to Triple-A Indianapolis early this week. The Indians play at home Monday and Tuesday before a four-game road trip. The expectation is Marté will begin playing nine innings later in the week. Though he will play "a game or two" in center field, his focus will be on returning to left.
In 13 games as the Pirates' starting center fielder, Marté was batting .241 with two home runs and seven RBI. Major League Baseball announced on April 25 that he was suspended for 80 games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. He won't be eligible for the playoffs, but the Pirates are concerned about how to utilize him now.
That means him in left and McCutchen in center.
"We tried one thing and wanted that to work, but with everything that went on it made it a little tougher to be able to do that," McCutchen said. "We’ll have to go back to the drawing board and now we're back to where we were in the past. Now just move on from there."
McCutchen began the season in right field, but now has a .984 fielding percentage in center and has played himself into the conversation for the All-Star game. Additionally, Polanco has looked more comfortable back in right after struggling in left to start the season.
Marté's return will also likely bump David Freese out of the starting lineup with Adam Frazier shifting back to second base and Josh Harrison to third. Yet, the Pirates are waiting to hear how Marté responds to more playing time before committing to any plan.
Hurdle said Marté has played in extended spring training, focusing on game situations such as stealing a base or bunting for a base hit, but there's no way to know how he'll adjust to playing on back-to-back days.
That said, Hurdle anticipates Marté to have no restrictions when he returns.
"I’ll have to see him," he said. "We’ll get some reports on what he does while he’s in Triple-A. Get some feedback from those guys. I don’t anticipate anything out of the ordinary, but we’ll have to wait and see."