FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Pirates' starting rotation plans have hit an unexpected snag just before the start of the season, as JT Brubaker is dealing with forearm/elbow discomfort that will likely cause him to start the season on the injured list.
The injury happened between his last start on March 21 and his scheduled start Monday, when Brubaker told the team he is not recovering the way he normally would after a start. The Pirates are still learning about the injury, but it's going to most likely push back the start of his season, with Derek Shelton saying it's a "fair assessment" that he could start on the IL.
"Our main focus now is just making sure he gets healthy," Derek Shelton said.
The Pirates have several off-days built into the schedule, so a trip to the 15-day injured list could theoretically cost Brubaker as few as two regular season starts. However, with elbows and forearms, there's always the potential that it could be problematic for a while. Brubaker experienced that first hand in 2019 when he missed almost the entirety of the minor-league season with an elbow injury.
Fortunately for the Pirates, they do have Johan Oviedo, who has been preparing for the season as a starter. There's a good chance he will slide into Brubaker's spot, though Shelton didn't commit to it before Monday's game against the Twins at the Lee County Sports Complex.
Still, losing Brubaker for an extended period of time would be a blow, especially since he had looked good this spring, striking out 26 with a 1.1 WHIP over 17 1/3 innings pitched.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Rich Hill made the start for Brubaker after an illness forced him to be a late scratch Sunday. A five-run second inning snowballed on him, setting the pace for an 8-4 Twins win.
Hill went on to allow seven runs on 11 hits over 4 2/3 innings.
"Obviously you want to have a good spring training," Hill said about his spring. "Results matter. It always matters. I don’t care if it’s spring training or whatever, a back-field game, it matters. I feel healthy. Did I throw the ball well? No. Do I feel like the ball is coming out of my hand well. At times, yes. I know we’re on the right track. I’m not concerned about that. Once the bell rings for the season, we’ll be ready to go."
Infield prospect Maikol Escotto provided most of the Pirates' offense with a ninth inning three-run shot.
• More injury news Monday:
Connor Joe is fine after getting hit in the left hand with a pitch Sunday. The hand guard did its job.
Nothing new on Jarlín García (elbow). Probably won't be anything until he is reevaluated in mid-April.
Outfield prospect Lonnie White Jr. is going to be out 7-9 weeks after he injured his thumb sliding into second base, which required surgery.
Utilityman Jared Triolo is also going to be having surgery on his left hand, though it's for a hamate injury. His surgery is this week, which should give a better timeframe for what his recovery window is.
And 2022 first-round pick Termarr Johnson (hamstring) is on the second week of his running program, though he may be out longer than the original 4-6 week window. It's not a setback, but rather the team spotted some things with his running mechanics that they thought they could clean up at this time.
• Another batch of roster cuts also came Monday, as Mark Mathias was optioned to Class AAA Indianapolis while infielders Drew Maggi and Chris Owings and right-hander Tyler Chatwood were reassigned to minor-league camp.
Without Mathias in the mix, the Pirates' don't have many internal options left to be the extra outfielder they want, which could mean Ji Hwan Bae and Canaan Smith-Njigba have good odds of going to Cincinnati Thursday for opening day. But Ben Cherington said the Pirates were going to monitor which players become available during these roster cuts, meaning nothing is guaranteed.
Smith-Njigba went 2-for-4 with a double Monday, raising his spring batting average to .326 and his OPS to .926. The Pirates haven't told him if he is making the team yet or not.
"I feel like I showed that I can help this team," Smith-Njigba said. "I feel like I showed I can hit the ball really hard. I feel like my defense and my base running, all-in-all my overall game, I showed I can compete at this level as an everyday baseball player and that skip can pencil me into the lineup and I'm gonna do what I need to do to help the team win."
He added a few moments later, "I did exactly what I felt like I could do" this spring.
