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BRADENTON, Fla. -- A little more than a week before opening day, the Pirates’ rotation took a major hit.
Left-hander Steven Brault will shut down throwing activities for a month due to a “roughly moderate” lat strain, according to Pittsburgh’s director of sports medicine, Todd Tomczyk. The 28-year-old first felt the injury during Friday’s 10-9 loss to the Orioles and was removed after two innings.
“From my lens, my perspective when the doctors and the medical staff revealed this to him, there was disappointment, disappointment and frustration,” Tomczyk said. “But at the end of it, there’s opportunity.”
Although the latissimus dorsi is in close proximity on the body to the shoulder which Brault injured last year, this new injury is acute and unrelated to what he went through last year. But the shoulder problem, which shut him down last March, provided a road map on how he might come back from his present injury.
Tomczyk said the issue is presently non-surgical and that it will require a lot of rest and rehab. He explained that the best case scenario for Brault’s return will be around the 10-week range. For every week Brault is out, it should take roughly two weeks to build back up to a starter’s workload. In order to speed up the healing, the club aims to build strength and work up other parts of his body.
“Steven is going to push the envelope here but you can’t really push too much physiologically,” Tomczyk said. “We’ll look at every avenue we can to speed up healing and that begins with the mind and the mindset.”
Brault was projected to be a front-of-the rotation option for the Pirates in 2021. There’s plenty of season left for him to return. And there are enough off-days throughout April that a fifth starter might only be necessary a handful of times through the end of the month.
But the player the Pirates will be without is not one whose turns in the rotation would have been skipped in April. Brault’s 3.38 ERA was the lowest among Pirates’ pitchers with at least 10 appearances in 2020. He ranked third among pitchers still on the roster with 42.2 innings and fourth with 38 strikeouts.
As it stands, the Pirates’ opening day rotation will likely be some combination of Mitch Keller, Chad Kuhl, Tyler Anderson and JT Brubaker. While Brault is out, that fifth spot in the rotation could belong to a recently-signed veteran -- likely Chase De Jong or Trevor Cahill, though knuckleballer Steven Wright could get built up quickly. Or a young offseason acquisition like Miguel Yajure or Wil Crowe.
De Jong and Crowe presently rank second and third on the team in Grapefruit League innings, and hold 0.77 and 0.93 ERAs, respectively. Cahill retired all six batters he faced in his Pirates’ debut Monday, and Yajure was optioned before Wednesday’s game against Atlanta and has been better than his 4.50 spring ERA would display.
Tomczyk echoed pitching coach Oscar Marin’s preseason concern that the club would need about 10-12 starting pitchers to get through the course of a 162-game season following the pandemic-shortened 60-game sprint. But Tomcyzk also explained that there might be a balance between pitchers that can’t handle the jump in workload and those that will benefit from the -- incidental -- rest, especially with advanced training and year-round training facilities.
“I'd like to look at it as a half-full as opposed to half empty, perspective, but everybody is an individual,” he said. “We're going to need all hands on deck to get through this season. And truthfully, we're looking out, not only short-term health for the players, but this is the long-term health for the players. It's going to be very fascinating for me to track this over the next couple of years.”
MORE UPDATES
• After seeking a second opinion on his UCL strain, right-hander Blake Cederlind underwent Tommy John surgery Tuesday night. Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the successful reconstructive procedure upon consulting with Cederlind and the Pirates’ medical staff. Cederlind is not expected to return to baseball activities for 14-16 months.
“Fortunately and unfortunately for Blake, there’s been a large cohort of professional baseball pitchers who have gone through this process, and there are many successes,” Tomczyk said.
• Todd Frazier is taking swings in the cage and progressing well from lower-back tightness. He was scratched from the lineup prior to Sunday’s 9-4 victory against the Red Sox, and did not make the trip to Fort Myers.
• No. 1 overall Rule 5 pick Jose Soriano (UCL) is continuing his live batting practice progression, and his reported pitch design, placement and arm angle program have been encouraging. Austin Davis (left elbow) is a step behind Soriano, throwing off flatground. Tyler Bashlor (lower back tightness) is also throwing live BP and building up to full-game activity.
• Chad Kuhl was not injured but rather he and his wife, Amanda, welcomed their baby boy, Hudson, on Friday. Kuhl is back participating in camp but had to pass through intake -- COVID screenings and such -- with the medical staff before doing so.
• The Pirates have 40 players left in big-league camp after a series of cuts before Wednesday's game. Yajure, right-hander Sean Poppen and infielder Cole Tucker were optioned, and infielder Will Craig, outfielder Troy Stokes Jr. and catchers Joe Hudson and Andrew Susac were reassigned. Poppen is listed as Thursday night's starter against the Orioles in Sarasota. Tucker has stood no chance in the infield competition with Adam Frazier, Kevin Newman and Erik Gonzalez. Craig has been playing a lot at first with Todd Frazier out, and Stokes has been making loud contact all spring.
