Starling Marte, speaking to reporters following the Pirates' 3-2 victory over the White Sox Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park, said he suffered an injury to his right oblique and does not think he'll require a stint on the disabled list.
The Pirates centerfielder did not play Wednesday after being removed from Tuesday's game with "right side discomfort," and he confirmed he suffered the injury during his at-bat in the first inning that ended with a double to left field. Marte does not have a long history of lower-back or abdominal injuries — he spent 19 days on the disabled list in 2012 for an oblique injury — but the team has approached him about being placed on the disabled list.
"We were talking about that recently, and I don’t think it’s necessary to go on the DL," Marte said through team interpreter Mike Gonzalez. "I do just want to kind of feel it out, and I don’t think it’s necessary to go on the DL right now."
Marte had a large bag of ice wrapped around his right side as he walked through the home clubhouse before the game. He has started 40 of 41 games this season and is batting .308/.366/.503 with five doubles, four triples, six home runs and 19 RBIs while batting in front of Josh Bell in the order.
Sean Rodriguez went 1 for 4 with a two-run double in only his sixth start in centerfield during his 11-year major-league career, and he's appeared in only 22 games there. With a lefty starter on the mound, Clint Hurdle said the Pirates' best option was for Rodriguez, not Adam Frazier, to take Marte's spot, and the team has ruled out using Gregory Polanco anywhere but right field this season.
"I think he's our best option in center; I really do," Hurdle said. "I have no desire to move Polanco. Zero. And Sean, if you were at the game last night, you may not be aware, but he takes balls out there. I don't know if anybody plays that ball off the wall any better than he does. He's not going to cover the ground Marte does. Nobody does. He moves well, he's got good instincts, a strong arm."
Francisco Cervelli was also out of the lineup after being hit by a pitch in the third inning of Tuesday night's win, but director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Cervelli is only being treated for a bruise. Cervelli, wearing a compression sleeve on his right arm, caught warmup pitches between innings when Elias Diaz was putting on his equipment in the dugout.
It's unlikely Cervelli would have started the series finale against the White Sox, even if he didn't suffer the injury Tuesday night. Although the Pirates were off Monday, he has started four consecutive games, and Hurdle prefers to use his backup catcher when a day game follows a night game. Elias Diaz, making his 10th start this season, also has seven hits in 11 at-bats against left-handed pitchers, and he caught Jameson Taillon, the Pirates' starting pitcher for the finale, throughout the minor leagues.
The Pirates' decision to carry 13 position players could give Marte two additional days of rest; however, he will likely land on the disabled list if he's unable to play by Saturday since the club will need to recall Nick Kingham to start against the Padres at PNC Park.
"It’s definitely just a discomfort," Marte said. "Nothing sharp. Nothing crazy painful. It’s just a discomfort, we're trying to figure out what it is, where it’s coming from and try not to make it worse. My coach, my staff knows I’m willing to play through it, but they just really want to protect me so I’m submitting to that right now."
• Joe Musgrove, the right-handed pitcher acquired by the Pirates in the Gerrit Cole trade, played catch on the field before first pitch Wednesday and is scheduled to make his final rehab start for Triple-A Indianapolis tomorrow at Norfolk. That puts Musgrove on track to join the Pirates' rotation next week in Cincinnati.
• A.J. Schugel, a right-handed reliever, was examined by Dr. James Andrews last week and received a platelet-rich plasma injection after a reoccurrence of discomfort in his right shoulder. Schugel, 28, appeared in only one spring training game because of right shoulder discomfort and began a rehab assignment with High-A Bradenton on April 12.
He had his rehab transferred to Indianapolis after two appearances, but he experienced discomfort again after throwing one inning against Gwinnett earlier this month. Tomczyk said Schugel will be shut down from throwing for approximately two weeks before being "built back up."
• Left-handed reliever Enny Romero, whom the Pirates attempted to designate for assignment before his representation informed the team he was dealing with a shoulder injury, received "positive reports" after being re-examined by team doctors and will continue advanced strength and conditioning exercises. He's expected to begin throwing in the coming days.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Pirates vs. White Sox, PNC Park, May 16, 2018. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS