Rather than adding a middle infielder, the Pirates recalled Jose Osuna on Monday and optioned catcher Jacob Stallings to Triple-A. They also activated relief pitcher Richard Rodriguez from the 10-day disabled list and sent Dovydas Neverauskas back to Indianapolis.
Osuna, who has played mostly first base and right field in his latest Triple-A stint, batted .351 with six doubles, a home run and 12 RBIs in 14 games this month. Meanwhile, Stallings did not appear in a game after he was recalled as insurance when Francisco Cervelli was hit in the left jaw with a foul ball at Wrigley Field on June 10.
Sean Rodriguez remains the Pirates' only backup at shortstop and second base; however, Clint Hurdle said Osuna was the choice since they could face two left-handed starters during the final seven games of the home stand.
"The same way he's fit in every other time," Hurdle said. "We'll look for an opportunity. We may see two left-handed starters the last seven games of the home stand. ... Opportunity to maybe match up off the bench, left-handed reliever, if possible. He's gone down there again, he's done his work. He's swung the bat well."
Yet, the Pirates have David Freese as a backup at third and first base, and they now have Austin Meadows as a fourth outfielder. Osuna has appeared in only five Triple-A games at first base and nine in right field. He hasn't even taken grounders at third since Jung Ho Kang was promoted to Indianapolis last Monday.
The Pirates were short on infield options, though. Neal Huntington told reporters Sunday they preferred to not recall Kevin Newman or Kevin Kramer to fill a spot on the bench. Also, Max Moroff has been used as mostly a bench player at Triple-A and is currently learning to play left field.
Christopher Bostick, whose .314 average ranks third in the International League, hasn't played the infield since last season. Meanwhile, Adam Frazier, who was sent to Triple-A when Stallings was recalled, has only three hits in 25 at-bats with Indianapolis. Kang has four hits in 22 at-bats and has struggled against breaking pitches, which he saw few of during his seven games with High-A Bradenton.
Osuna has slashed .241/.267/.483 with two home runs and six RBIs in 29 at-bats with the Pirates this season. He was 2 for 9 with a home run as a pinch-hitter and struggled against left-handed pitching, although he batted .391 against them in Triple-A.
"I tried to make an adjustment over there," Osuna said. "My last time here I was struggling a little bit. I had to make an adjustment and do the same I was doing in spring training or my first couple games here."
Oddly enough, Rodriguez's return is a promising development for the Pirates' struggling bullpen. The 28-year-old has a 1.14 WHIP and 33 strikeouts to only one unintentional walk in 22 2/3 innings. He was placed on the 10-day disabled list on June 8 because of right shoulder inflammation.
Neverauskas, who was sent to Triple-A only 12 games into the season, has a 1.90 WHIP in 11 major-league innings.
He pitched two scoreless innings against the Cubs on June 8, but he's since allowed five earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. On the other hand, Neverauskas has a 0.95 WHIP with 31 strikeouts to 11 walks in 23 innings with Indianapolis. Like many pitchers around the game, Neverauskas is struggling to adapt to the majors after hitters weren't able to hit his mistakes in Triple-A.
"It's a large gap," Hurdle said. "Take this [Brewers] lineup over here today, take their Triple-A lineup. There's safety nets in the Triple-A lineup you can pitch through, around. Up here there's no safety nets. ... He is in a large group of people who have really good stuff that if they don't execute up here, they can get hit hard. There's a lot of pitchers that are on this shuttle right now that go through that challenging time until they establish and land, execute the pitches, consistent repetition of the delivery, that can make their mark and keep their foothold up here. Velocity means nothing up here without some late movement."