The Pirates have been without a significant portion of their opening day lineup for just about every game this season. But there were two massively important players to return from injuries this week.
On Sunday, the club activated Colin Moran from the injured list, and he's penciled in at first base and the cleanup spot for the series finale against the Marlins at PNC Park. In addition to the Moran move, the Pirates also placed Mitch Keller on the COVID-IL, recalled left-hander Austin Davis and optioned Cole Tucker to Class AAA Indianapolis.
Moran suffered a groin strain on a dive to the first-base bag at Wrigley Field and has been sidelined since May 9. He's the second Pirates' hitter to be activated this week after Ke'Bryan Hayes came back from a wrist injury in the series opener Thursday. The return of those two sluggers gives the Pirates a formidable top of the order.
"It feels good to add him back," Derek Shelton said. "Now we’re getting closer to what we expected our lineup to be when we broke spring training."
Moran was the team leader in most offensive categories when he went down with the injury nearly a month ago. He's still fourth on the team with 19 RBIs and is tied for third with four homers. Moran's last step before returning to the club was three rehab games with Indianapolis, in which he homered, doubled and drove in six runs over nine at-bats.
"He looked like Colin Moran in those at-bats," Ben Cherington said on his Sunday morning radio show.
MORE FROM PREGAME
• Cherington has not ruled out the possibility of Keller making his next scheduled start Thursday when the Dodgers come to town. The 25-year-old right-hander left his start Friday after just two innings due to "heat illness." His placement on the COVID-IL means that the club isn't able to get into too much detail, but considering he's still a possibility to start Thursday, there's enough to surmise that there more than likely wasn't a positive test.
Speaking of, Cherington also announced that the Pirates should hit their 85 percent vaccination threshold by the end of the week. We have more on that right here.
• It's been a strange start to the season for Tucker, who had just two hits over 15 at-bats in his latest big-league stint before being optioned. Shelton said that, despite the lack of success at the plate, he still saw the effects of some of the extra, individualized work Tucker did down in Bradenton after they broke camp in March.
"He didn't get a ton of at-bats here, and he needs to play. But the process in what he's working on, definitely. The balance was considerably better," Shelton said. "I thought he saw the ball better from the conversations we had with him. So, yeah, I think the process of what were doing is working. He just needs to play."
Cherington insinuated that it's put up or shut up time for a player in Tucker's situation, saying in general terms, "there's really no such thing as a prospect when you get to that level." The general manager said that Tucker can certainly earn his way back to the majors. But it's obvious that that opportunity will depend on his ability to produce at the plate in the upper levels.
"I think he's going to tell us," Cherington said. "There's no question about how hard he's working at it. We know he's talented. We know he's doing the work. And over time that's going to translate."
Tucker was batting .214 with five extra-base hits and three RBIs in 14 games with Indianapolis before being recalled on May 21.
• After bringing just one lefty reliever to Wrigley Field for opening day, the Pirates now have three southpaws in the bullpen after the addition of Davis. The 28-year-old opened the season on the 60-day IL, and made seven rehab appearances with low Class A Bradenton and Indianapolis, allowing a run with 16 strikeouts over 8 1/3 innings.
Davis doesn't just provide another lefty option in the bullpen. He's also fresh arm that can help to spell a relief unit that's had to cover 17 2/3 innings in the past three days while the Marlins have been in town.
"It's mostly fastball-slider, but he can pitch to righties with his fastball," Cherington said, explaining that Davis, like all of the arms in the bullpen can be trusted to go multiple innings. "He's done a really good job since he came over here last year of executing that four-seamer and getting that to the right spots, and then getting off of that with the slider."
• Cherington also revealed that Miguel Yajure had pitched with some "sensation" in his elbow through part of the season. Yajure was placed on the minor-league IL on Wednesday.
"We want to make sure that we're really on top of this," Cherington said. "He's feeling better. Symptoms have been getting better."
Yajure will be evaluated again in the next couple days. The 23-year-old has made five starts between the major-league and Class AAA clubs, allowing 11 runs over 28 1/3 total innings.
• Phillip Evans is a step behind Moran in his rehab, and will be in the outfield for Indianapolis' game against Columbus on Sunday. Cherington said the Pirates will decide if he's fully healed from his hamstring strain during the off day Monday.
"Reports have been positive so far, and he's been swinging the bat well," Cherington said.
Evans will come up after Moran because he has to get used to bouncing around the field and playing different positions, which will be his role now that most of the club is completely healthy.
• Trevor Cahill, who has been down with a calf strain since May 22, had three "ups" -- which is basically a simulation of the starting and stopping that takes place when a pitcher goes multiple innings -- in a live batting practice at PNC Park on Sunday morning. The team still has not decided on what the 33-year-old veteran's role will be upon his return.
"We're going to need him. We're going to need his help this year," Cherington said.
Their goal is to keep his pitch count in a place which allows him to be both a starter and a reliever. Which more or less means he'll have to work up to a starter's workload.
