CHICAGO — Adam Frazier, once the favorite to be the Pirates' starting left fielder this season, and Nick Kingham, the starting pitcher who was perfect through 20 batters in his big-league debut, were optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis Sunday morning.
In corresponding moves, Ivan Nova was activated from the 10-day disabled list to start Sunday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, and Jacob Stallings was recalled from Triple-A as insurance if Francisco Cervelli is unavailable. Cervelli, who took a foul ball off his catcher's mask in the third inning Saturday, told reporters x-rays on his jaw were negative, and he was not diagnosed with a concussion.
However, the Pirates added Stallings as they monitor Cervelli's progress, and Frazier, who started 93 games last season, was the odd man out.
"I'm OK," Cervelli said. "It got me good, right in my jaw. Probably the second time in three days on the same spot."
Frazier has not started a game for the Pirates since last Sunday, and is mired in an 8-for-43 slump over his past 24 games, dropping his season average to .237. He was the club's starting designated hitter on opening day and received the bulk of the starts at second base when Josh Harrison was on the disabled list with a broken hand.
Yet, Clint Hurdle opted to start Sean Rodriguez in recent weeks, including Saturday when Harrison was away from the team. Rodriguez is batting .162 with 39 strikeouts in 105 at-bats this season. Frazier, 26, batted .276/.344/.399 in 121 games last season, splitting most of his time between left field and second base. He potentially became expendable, though, since he had minor-league options, and he's no longer needed in the outfield since Austin Meadows is in the major leagues.
Cervelli, 32, was shaken up in the third inning Saturday when Jason Heyward's foul tip hit him in the left shoulder and ricocheted to strike him in the jaw. Cervelli immediately took off his mask, clutched at his jaw and shook his head slowly. Bryan Housand, the Pirates' head athletic trainer, and Hurdle checked on the catcher following the at-bat, but Cervelli remained in the game.
Cervelli then hit a ground ball to lead off the fourth inning, and he ran slowly up the first-base line. He was then removed from the game and replaced by Elias Diaz, who is starting Sunday against the Cubs.
"It was a little crazy there," Cervelli said of being hit on the left side of his jaw. "A good punch. Even catching, it's nothing new, so I was trying to pass that and keep going. I thought it wasn't good for my team to keep playing that way."
Hurdle said: "It's day-to-day, that's all I can give you right now. It might change before the game. ... We're still just evaluating him. Trying to give him some time."
Stallings was batting .294 with a .740 OPS in 40 games with Indianapolis, and he's appeared in 10 games for the Pirates the past two seasons. He has worked extensively with the Pirates' young pitchers, including Jameson Taillon, Trevor Williams and Chad Kuhl.
Kingham, 26, allowed two earned runs on four hits in 6 1/3 innings of the Pirates' 2-0 loss to the Cubs on Saturday afternoon. He had allowed at least three earned runs in his each of his previous four starts following his debut; however, the right-hander improved after early turbulence in each of those outings. Overall, he's posted a 3.82 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP and 35 strikeouts to seven walks in 35 1/3 major-league innings.
"What we've seen is he's been able to counterpunch because he's had some outings that have been on the top side and some outings that have been challenging," Hurdle said of Kingham. "The one in Chicago got away from him last time we faced them. ... He comes back and faces them another time, he handles the left-handed hitters, he stays strong two outings in between with some turbulence early out of his control. I see growth, development, the overall game awareness."
The Pirates' rotation ranks 17th in the majors in ERA and 14th in WHIP. Williams has a 6.06 ERA and .291 opponent batting average over his past seven starts. He has lasted four or fewer innings in two of his last three starts.
Kuhl has allowed 12 home runs in 13 starts with a 1.35 WHIP. Nova, the highest-paid starter on the staff, has a 4.96 ERA and 1.34 WHIP this season. Taillon has a 2.79 ERA over his last three starts and Joe Musgrove has a 1.21 WHIP in three starts since being activated from the disabled list.
However, none of the five have pitched their way out of the rotation.
"It's just tough," Hurdle said. "You try to have an honest conversation with (Kingham) and you share with him what's gone well, what he's in control of. How we're best served moving forward and be transparent with the situation here. We've got five starters in place we're going to give the ball to and see where that takes us, knowing he's completely capable and available to step in anytime and pick up and go. He's done a very professional job of that, from the beginning of the season until now."
Nova was placed on the disabled list retroactive to May 25 after experiencing pain in his pitching hand. He was diagnosed with a sprained right ring finger and told reporters the injury was to blame for some of his struggles last month, which included a 7.61 ERA in four starts.
Musgrove, who was originally scheduled to start the series finale against the Cubs, will instead start Monday's game against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Hurdle said the Pirates opted to push him back because the staff thought Nova needed to get on a mound as soon as possible following his live batting practice session Wednesday, and the plan is designed to give the other four starters additional rest with an off-day Thursday.