ST. LOUIS -- This week, Roberto Pérez got to check off the last box on his rehab from May's hamstring injury. He finally started to run.
He and the Pirates knew back in May that he was done for the season after he took a bad turn at second base at Great American Ballpark. He has a reputation as an elite defender -- winning two Gold Gloves -- and a great clubhouse guy, but it was his recent injury history that included missing significant time in 2021 that dropped him into the Pirates' price range last offseason.
"I've been through so many injuries in my career, there's always a hope [to play]," Pérez told me about this most recent rehab journey. "It was tough to swallow."
What stings perhaps the most for Pérez was that he was brought in specifically to be a veteran for a young team. He took that seriously, which is why he spent a large portion of his rehab in Pittsburgh so he can stay in the clubhouse. Pitchers have still approached him and asked for his input, so he has still had an impact on the team, even if it doesn't always feel like it.
"I feel like I let them down," he said. "I know I cannot control that, but I came here to take the younger guys under my wing and go out there and make them feel comfortable."
"I see something special, man," Pérez said, referring to the team. "It's why I want to come back next year."
There haven't been any formal talks yet for a 2023 contract, but it does make sense for both parties. Pérez will almost surely only be able to get a one-year deal this winter because of his injury history, which is a plus for the Pirates since they have two top 100 prospects -- Henry Davis and Endy Rodriguez -- in the upper-half of the farm system. Rodriguez will need to be added to the 40 man roster this winter anyway to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Pérez got to work with the duo in spring training, where they left a good impression with him.
"They were in there, working every day and trying to get better, and that's what you want," Pérez said.
If there is one thing for certain for Pérez, he's not going to let this most recent injury stop him. He will be suiting up somewhere in 2023.
"I have a lot left in the tank. I want to play."
MORE PIRATES
2. All I'll add to Alex's entry above is that the team definitely has interest in a return for Perez and, possibly, in the same for Jose Quintana. I'm sure of the first, while I've only heard hints on the latter. -- Dejan Kovacevic
3. One way Pérez could rebuild free agent value this winter is by playing winter ball, something the Pirates kept in mind during his rehab. However, another injury there could be disastrous. Talking to him, it sounds like he's going to opt to do more rehab and conditioning.
"As much as I want to play and be out there, I want to work on my body and get it right," he said. "I just don't want to take the chance." -- Stumpf in St. Louis
4. Had a recent chat with Davis, where he told me that there is no doubt in his mind that he'll be in the majors next season. "I'll be there," he said. So keep him in mind for any catcher plans. -- Stumpf
5. Doug Drabek may have bounced the first pitch on his bobblehead doll night Saturday, but the Cy Young winner still looks good. You can tell he still loves the game and it's helping to keep him young. -- Stumpf
PENGUINS
6. Jake Guentzel scored 40 goals in 76 games last season, a 43-goal pace in an 82-game season. Could 50 be a realistic target for him this season? I asked him that after practice in Cranberry on Thursday.
"I don't know," he said. "I'm just don't really like to put numbers on anything or stats, I just kind of just play my game and if the goals are coming, they come."
I asked if that 50-goal milestone feels like the next big individual accomplishment he want to check off after being an All-Star last season.
"I haven't really thought about that," he said. "It's just an exciting time to play hockey and it's hard to score goals. It's going to be a tough challenge, but we'll just kind of see what happens." -- Taylor Haase in Cranberry, Pa.
7. Kasperi Kapanen, who missed several days of team activities earlier this week due to not feeling well, told me following training camp practice on Thursday that he's been dealing with a "general sickness." He's still not at 100%, though, and suspects he'll need a few days on the ice before he's back to where he wants to be. - Danny Shirey in Cranberry, Pa.
8. When I spoke with Ty Smith earlier in the week, he told me there's "not too many details" he can give me regarding the coaching he's received and what he needs to work on. He did, however, allude that the coaches want him to continue working toward buying into the team concept, as well as playing the game the right way even when the puck isn't on his stick. -- Shirey
9. Penguins forward prospect Kirill Tankov underwent surgery to repair a broken vertebrae in his neck earlier this month after he was injured following a dangerous hit from behind that sent him head-first into the boards. He's expected to miss the remainder of the season, but a member of the Penguins' development staff told me this week that Tankov's injury isn't as bad as they had initially feared. He's expected to play again and could be ready for the start of next season. Encouraging news for a player the Penguins' development staff seems really high on. -- Haase
10. Casey DeSmith let Teddy Blueger design his goalie mask last season, and at the time said that he might let Blueger design another one for him this season as well. I asked DeSmith after practice if he's going to let Blueger design another mask for him, and he decided he's going to keep designing his own masks. "He had his one chance," DeSmith said with a laugh. "He designed it like a player, just putting stuff everywhere. I like my masks simple." -- Haase
11. Players occasionally will use old equipment left behind by players who have been traded or signed elsewhere. Last year, Dominik Simon came into camp using Dominik Kahun's old gloves. This year, Kasperi Kapanen is using John Marino's old sticks. There are certainly some goals still left in them, at least. -- Haase
12. This is Sidney Crosby's 18th NHL training camp, not exactly anything new for him. It's cool to see that his father, Troy, made the trip down from Cole Harbour to sit in the stands and watch Crosby's training camp practices just like any other hockey dad. -- Haase
13. The protein bar of choice now in the Penguins' locker room is ALOHA bars, if you're looking for a recommendation. Plant-based, organic, high-quality stuff. -- Haase
STEELERS
14. Mason Cole has talked to the media quite a bit. So far this season, when the media needs to talk to someone on the offensive line, he’s become the most frequent guy to step in front of the cameras and give well thought-out answers.
I had a really good one-on-one chat with him this week, and I asked him how aware he is about the history of the center position in Pittsburgh, citing players such as Mike Webster, Dermontti Dawson and Maurkice Pouncey, and how much that enters his mind when he puts on the black and gold uniform.
"Going back throughout history, those guys and those legacies are something that you can't ever forget as a player," Cole told me. "It's not hung over your head. I don't think it's a big pressure thing, but it's always in the back of your head just knowing that those guys before set the standard. And they won a bunch of Super Bowls too, which is obviously the standard here." -- Chris Halicke on the South Side
15. I've asked Cole, and just about every other offensive lineman, who the vocal leader is in this group -- from the start of training camp up until now -- and I’ve gotten the same answer: There really isn’t just one. It’s ... all of them. It might explain why it’s taken a while for this group to gel, but every single one of them have told me their communication and chemistry has continuously gotten better. So it might not be a coincidence this group’s performance has also continuously gotten better. "The more we talked, the more we gelled, the more we got together, we just got more confident," Kevin Dotson told me. "That’s showing a lot now." -- Halicke
16. This team wants to run the football. They know it helps control the clock, and controlling the clock keeps the defense rested. There’s a lot of skill on the outside, but it’s not an accident the most productive drives of the season coincided with a productive running attack. "It definitely builds our morale -- a lot," Dotson told me. "Everybody can build on it. If we get 20-yard runs, the receivers know the pass is going to start opening up. Quarterbacks can feel more confident. It’s a must every time we play." -- Halicke
17. Mike Tomlin was very forthright about why Montravius Adams supplanted Tyson Alualu at nose tackle, citing Adams has simply played better than the 35-year-old veteran. One defensive lineman who has yet to even get a helmet this season is Isaiahh Loudermilk, and I checked with him to see if the shakeup on the defensive line had any trickle-down effect throughout the rest of the group. He confirmed with me his rep count has stayed "about the same" as they have all season. And, just as it was in last Friday’s Insider, the coaching staff hasn’t given him any indication of when he may get the opportunity to play. -- Halicke
18. Tomlin can only dress so many defensive linemen for a game, and the Steelers have not shied away from a heavy rotation throughout the group on game day. However, that doesn’t mean the 273 snaps the defense has logged hasn’t taken its toll on the defensive line. Cam Heyward was moving around very gingerly after the game in Cleveland. There’s no injury concern. He just looked … tired. The defense won’t make excuses for anything that happens on the field, but I’m sure they’ll be just as happy as anyone if the offense can become more productive and, more important, win the time of possession battle. -- Halicke
19. Arthur Maulet phrased it well, in terms of the Steelers' secondary making plays while potentially not having Ahkello Witherspoon this Sunday, and with Minkah Fitzpatrick operating through the concussion protocol.
"Just execute and play A-plus football, varsity football for this team," Maulet told me. "Not having no drop-offs, know what I'm saying? Just make plays that's coming my way." -- Corey Crisan on the South Side
What entails that varsity football? I asked Maulet, and he responded:
"Good eyes, great technique, and not giving up -- not being ourselves, not being myself."
20. Teryl Austin considered the development of the Steelers working on its run defense as a "process." I gathered Maulet's perspective on that:
"We've got to take more ownership, be more physical," he said. "I think that's all we're talking about right now, being more physical and just rallying to the ball. Gang tackling. That's the biggest thing." -- Crisan
21. This oozes with irony, given the summer-long expectations, but the offensive line had to talk with both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren about hitting the scripted holes more aggressively rather than the ones the backs hoped would develop. It paid off, too, in the first half in Cleveland, stopped only by Matt Canada senselessly pulling the plug on the run after intermission. But hey. -- Kovacevic