It’s been an inauspicious start to the 2021 season for both Mitch Keller and Gregory Polanco. Although with the ample time and patience devoted to those two particular players, it’s likely they’ll continue to get every opportunity afforded to them.
Ben Cherington explained part of the evaluation process for the struggling Keller and Polanco during a Zoom call with reporters Friday. The general manager explained that the young Keller has shown signs of encouragement, and that it’s important for him to get chances to iron out the wrinkles in his outings.
“We are encouraged and happy with his effort between starts, the things he's focused on and the things he's working on,” Cherington said about Keller, whose start was backed up to Sunday’s finale with the inclusion of Miguel Yajure into the immediate rotation. “Clearly, there's more improvement to happen; he knows that, we know that. And there's been inconsistency outing to outing, in terms of bringing the practice work into the game. We've seen flashes. We need to see it more consistently.”
Keller has a 7.81 ERA through seven starts this season.
And with the veteran Polanco, they’re still in a phase where they’re determining who will be a part of their future. The 29-year-old Polanco is batting .202 with three homers and six RBIs with four stolen bases this season. The team has a $3 million opt-out on his contract at the end of this season, or he’s owed $12.5 million in 2022.
“We have and expect to continue to give opportunities to different guys, just to learn more about them,” Cherington said of the outfield group, including Polanco. “He's still hitting the ball hard and all the stuff we talked about, and still believe he can be a good major league player. And I know he's working hard toward that, and we'll continue to support him toward that.”
Polanco recently spent seven days on the injured list for undisclosed reasons, which given the nature of how it all played out likely means it was a COVID-19 protocol related absence.
MORE FROM PREGAME
• Although there has been an inordinate number of injuries this week, Yajure’s second opportunity in the majors this season is unrelated to anything going on in the trainer’s room. Each member of the rotation was bumped back a day, but the rotation after Friday should remain intact.
“When we get these stretches of games where maybe there's an opportunity to get a start for Yajure, there may be others that we try to do that with over the course of a season, and then gives other guys an extra day,” Cherington said. “Meanwhile you get some exposure to guys, get guys some experience, also, when we can, buy an extra day for the guys that have been taking regular turns.”
Derek Shelton shot down the idea that a six-man rotation will be in the cards for the immediate future.
“As we move forward, we will definitely look at things but as of right now, I don't see us changing small sample,” Shelton said.
Yajure cruised through the early part of his Pirates debut last month in Detroit but was tagged for three runs while recording just one out in the fifth inning and was charged with the loss in the 5-2 defeat during a doubleheader.
• There’s a tentative schedule in place for Ke’Bryan Hayes continuing rehab, one in which Cherington describes as, “written in pencil,” in regards to his next step of playing in minor-league rehab games. Hayes will be eligible to come off of the 60-day injured list June 3.
“He is progressing well. He had a good day yesterday, says he feels great. We just have to be mindful that it's been long enough now since the first couple days of April that we got to build the whole body back up, the whole player,” Cherington said. “It’s not just the wrist; we’ve got to make sure that all of him is ready to play major-league games again.”
• With the start of the minor-league season, Cherington’s schedule has gotten much busier. Overall, he’s still in the very early stages of his evaluation of the Pirates’ farm system. He’s been similarly impressed by what Roansy Contreras, who leads all minor leaguers with 22 strikeouts, has been able to do for Class AA Altoona, and provided an update that low Class A right-hander Brennan Malone has yet to pitch this season due to a blister on his throwing hand.
Even after the lengthy layoff, the early returns for the minor leaguers have been encouraging.
“[We’re] really trying to make sure we were shifting the mindset back toward competition and back towards playing baseball games, and not just training,” Cherington said. “We’ve done some things early in the season in terms of just the way we're preparing for games, trying to try to push that mindset. ... Not perfect, but a lot of good ones and, knock on wood, relatively healthy so far. Looking forward to seeing more. It’s been a blast watching games again.”
Although it was injuries that forced the Pirates’ hand to promote Will Craig -- an opportunity on which he capitalized with his first MLB hit and homer Thursday night -- it’s going to take a more careful assessment for most prospects, and there won’t be much fast tracking up the ladder.
Considering the unknown nature of the 2021 MiLB season following the year off, and the challenges of evaluating a player beyond performance -- work ethic, off-field behavior, clubhouse makeup -- it might be a little while before there are further promotions beyond a need caused by something like an injury.
“We’ll keep an eye on it. As I said before, we want guys to be in a spot where they’re challenged, where it’s not easy for them, but also not overwhelmed,” Cherington said.
• Finally, not much has materialized on the trade front this season, particularly for the Pirates. But Cherington has maintained that the phone lines are open. And with a few intriguing trade candidates contributing at the the major-league level, it’s important for them to listen.
“I think we just try to stay in touch with teams as best we can and just continue to get a sense of where teams are and what they're interested in and how motivated they are,” Cherington said. “Trades require motivation from at least two sides, and the only way you're going to know that is just to stay in touch with teams, keep talking, and if it's meant to be between two teams or three teams or whatever it is, then you find it, and you never really know when you're going to find it. Could be tomorrow, could be a month from now, could be July 31st.”