Josh Harrison's rehab assignment is over and the Pirates' two-time All-Star second baseman is expected to rejoin the team for their series finale against the Padres on Sunday at PNC Park, Clint Hurdle told reporters Saturday afternoon.
Hurdle also announced Joe Musgrove, the Pirates' right-handed starting pitcher, on the disabled list since April 2, could rejoin the rotation sometime next week. Harrison, 30, has been on the 10-day disabled list since April 16 after a hit-by-pitch broke the fifth metacarpal of his left hand —the same bone he broke on a hit-by-pitch last September.
He appeared in three games for Double-A Altoona over the past week, recording two hits in 12 at-bats. The Pirates will announce a corresponding roster move Sunday afternoon, and Harrison returned to PNC Park Saturday to prepare for his return to the lineup.
"It felt really good," Harrison said of facing live pitching again. "Just excited to be able to progress and get ready to get back in the swing of things. Sitting watching for a couple weeks definitely sucks, but like I said, I’m excited to be back."
The rehab assignment gave Harrison his first reps against live pitching to regain his timing at the plate and test out the protective pad in the batting glove on his left hand. He told reporters he tagged out one runner in three games but did not convert a double play. The Pirates saw enough to bring him back.
Harrison was batting .263 with two doubles, one home run, five RBIs, and 12 runs scored in 13 games before suffering the injury. The Pirates have gone 15-14 with Harrison on the disabled list, and they've received little production from their leadoff hitters. Adam Frazier is batting .225/.301/.324 in 40 games, and Max Moroff hit .216 in 16 games before being sent back to Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday to make room for pitcher Nick Kingham.
With Kingham expected to only make a spot start, he'll likely be sent back to Indianapolis to make room for Harrison to rejoin the Pirates Sunday. Harrison spent the early days of his recovery watching the Pirates' starters throw in the bullpen, and he was cleared for full baseball activities last week before beginning his rehab assignment.
He also began to explore different ways to better protect himself from hit-by-pitches since the same injury cut his season short last September, and he expressed satisfaction with the protective pad he's now using on his left hand.
"I’ve got a protective pad molded to my hand, the backside of my hand that didn’t really bother me," Harrison said. "I was able to take BP and progress, use it in a game and it felt natural. I think that was a step forward knowing that I could go up there and not really feel like I’m worried about what’s protecting my hand or the rest of my body."
Musgrove also returned to PNC Park following his rehab start Friday night, and he told reporters he expects to make his first start with the Pirates next Thursday in Cincinnati, which will give him an additional day of rest after he struggled in his final rehab start for Indianapolis.
Musgrove allowed 10 hits and six earned runs with two walks and five strikeouts over five innings against Durham, the Rays' Triple-A affiliate. The right-hander threw 67 of his 96 pitches for strikes; however, he allowed four extra-base hits, two doubles and two triples. He did not allow a hit and struck out six with no walks in 5 2/3 innings of his previous start for Indianapolis.
Musgrove, though, said he struggled this time because he was unable to put hitters away.
"It felt really good. ... The results obviously weren’t what we wanted them to be, but I think it was good to experience it a little bit, have my back against the wall and get to work out of some tough jams," Musgrove said. "There were a couple situations. I think ultimately I wasn’t very good with my put-away pitches. I was behind guys a lot, but I found a way to battle back and get back into a good count. I just had trouble putting guys away with quality pitches. There was too much plate, and I felt like when I didn’t make good pitches, balls found holes or down the line or whatever."
Hurdle had a similar assessment and came to Musgrove's defense, saying, "I heard he got the ups, he got the pitches, elevated some four-seam fastballs that were hit, threw all his pitches, controlled the running game, velocity. The one outing, everybody was up in, ‘Ooh, no hits! Ooh!’ Now it’s 'Six runs! Ooh!’ You hear a lot of noise. I think we’ve realized that he’s gotten his work in. He went out to compete. He didn’t get the results he wanted, but from a competitive standpoint, he made pitches. Executed pitches. When he didn’t execute, he paid for it. That’s kind of the name of the game when you’re on the mound. However, he feels good. We’ll evaluate today how he feels after throwing, then we’ll map out next steps for him as well. All in all, there wasn’t any red flags that anything was hurt, anything was in pain or anything like that. It’s just pitch execution maybe wasn’t as sharp as it was the time out before.”
Musgrove, one of four players acquired from the Astros for Gerrit Cole, has yet to pitch in the regular season for the Pirates because of right shoulder discomfort. This was the second time in less than a year Musgrove was placed on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. He spent 13 days on the DL last May with right shoulder discomfort but made 28 more appearances for the Astros the rest of the season.
Musgrove was expected to begin the season in the Pirates' rotation, but he was limited to only three starts in Grapefruit League play after experiencing right shoulder discomfort before his first scheduled live batting practice. He allowed nine earned runs in 11 2/3 innings for the Pirates this spring, recording a 1.54 WHIP and 6.94 ERA. His command was shaky at times, particularly with his breaking pitches, but he showed progress in his final start by allowing just one earned run in five innings against the Blue Jays.
Musgrove then threw 92 pitches in six innings of a minor league game in Bradenton to prepare himself for his first start in the regular season, but he didn’t recover as quickly as he had hoped and expressed those concerns to the Pirates’ training staff. Musgrove had a 1.44 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in 31 1/3 innings in relief for the Astros last season. On the other hand, he had a 6.12 ERA and 1.51 WHIP in 78 innings as a starter.
He made four rehab starts, beginning with one at High-A Bradenton on May 1, and said he's ready to finally help the Pirates win.
"I don’t think I’m going anywhere else," Musgrove said. "I’m done with rehab starts from what I know. I’m excited to be in one place now and be with this club."