CINCINNATI — Although reliever Tanner Anderson was recalled last Sunday when Austin Meadows was sent back to Triple-A, Meadows' actual replacement in the dugout joined the Pirates at Great American Ball Park following the All-Star Break.
Sean Rodriguez, placed on the 10-day disabled list June 27, was reinstated from the DL Friday and will start at second base against the Reds after completing a 12-game rehab assignment between Triple-A Indianapolis and High-A Bradenton. Anderson was sent back down to make room for Rodriguez.
"When you’re obviously giving it everything you have , you’re putting in whatever kind of work – ridiculous amounts of work and not seeing anything — you’re feeling like, ‘Man, I’m useless,’ for a lack of a better word," Rodriguez, who batted .250 with Indy, told reporters in the visitors clubhouse.
Rodriguez's return does not come as a surprise. Meadows' absence left the Pirates without a backup center fielder, which is one of seven positions Rodriguez played before being placed on the disabled list with a right quadriceps strain.
Rodriguez, 33, has batted .145/.270/.274 with 46 strikeouts in 117 at-bats with the Pirates this season. Shortly after going on the disabled list, he sat down with hitting coach Jeff Branson and assistant hitting coach Jeff Livesey to construct a plan for his time away.
Rodriguez then compiled a to-do list on his phone, as well as a diary of sorts, detailing how he felt at the plate when he was producing, compared to his at-bats this season. He'd revisit the document before each of his games in the minor leagues. It didn't lead to results, though.
Rodriguez had nine hits in 36 at-bats for Indianapolis with two home runs and seven RBIs. He was also sent to Bradenton during the Triple-A All-Star break, where he had one hit in eight at-bats over two games. Rodriguez had four errors in that span. Clint Hurdle lauded Rodriguez for his determination and willingness to work in the minor leagues.
"You never want to have that feeling," Rodriguez said. "You never want to know that you can’t contribute, so you have two choices, obviously: you can sit there and take the beating and say, ‘You know what, I’m useless,’ or claw and scratch and do whatever it takes to figure out how you can contribute. … My mind was set on fighting. That's what I've been doing and that’s what I’m going to keep doing."
Rodriguez has struggled at the plate since he suffered a shoulder injury last January, when a stolen police car crashed into his SUV. Rodriguez underwent surgery and was expected to miss the entire season. However, he returned in July and has batted .156 with 117 strikeouts in 249 at-bats since.
Rodriguez, who signed a two-year contract with the Braves in December 2016, played only 15 games with the club before he was traded back to the Pirates last August. Hurdle told reporters this spring Rodriguez's swing was back to where it was in 2016, when the utilityman hit a career-high 18 home runs. Rodriguez proceeded to hit four home runs in 16 Grapefruit League games, but it hasn't translated to the regular season.
Rodriguez now admits he wasn't sure what he was doing at the plate to have success in the spring. So, he, Branson and Livesey revisited the basics, including hand placement and keeping his head straight. "Again, I hate using — for a lack of a better word — the [bullcrap] excuse that maybe the accident really messed a lot of that up, but I don’t know. It did. It felt really foreign. … I’ve gotta be contributing a lot more and I can. It’s not like I couldn’t. We were able to do that and obviously feel a lot of good things."
Hurdle is waiting to see the results on the field before declaring Rodriguez's rehab assignment a success. After all, only so much can be gained from facing minor league pitching. Rodriguez has rejoined a club that won six straight before the All-Star break and is now only one game under .500.
"There was a number of at-bats where there was a lot of swing-and-miss, a lot of chase," Hurdle said of Rodriguez season so far. "There wasn't the in-zone contact we had seen in the past. Talked about it, tried to evaluate it to the best of our abilities and then the injury came along, so can we use the injury in a positive fashion? We were able to get him down there, play a lot of games, get consistent at-bats. ... There's a lot at stake for him as well."