The Pirates announced that ace Gerrit Cole has been placed on the disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 25, with “posterior inflammation of the right elbow.” Left-hander Steven Brault is up from Triple-A Indianapolis and will assume Cole’s spot in the rotation against the Cubs tonight.
[Related: Updated Pittsburgh Pirates depth chart]
This will be the second DL stint of the season for Cole, who missed just over a month earlier this summer when he was diagnosed with a strained right triceps. The fourth-place finisher in last year’s National League Cy Young voting, Cole hasn’t looked like himself since being activated from that initial trip to the disabled list, pitching to a 4.73 ERA and yielding 57 hits in 45 2/3 innings. Overall, he’s posted a 3.55 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 46.1 percent ground-ball rate in 114 innings. All of those rates have gone the wrong direction from last season’s masterful numbers, though there’s been very little loss of velocity for Cole.
Brault, 24, will join the Bucs for the second time this season. Originally acquired from the Orioles in the 2015 Travis Snider trade, Brault allowed four earned runs in 10 innings across a pair of starts earlier this season and has enjoyed a solid season at the Triple-A level as well. In 75 1/3 minor league innings this year, Brault has recorded a 3.70 ERA with a career-best 10.3 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9 to go along with a 41.5 percent ground-ball rate.
The loss of Cole is a tough break for a Pirates team that is presently just a half-game back from the Cardinals in the race for the second National League Wild Card spot. However, the struggles of Pittsburgh’s ace over the past several weeks have arguably been more detrimental, and if a short-term layoff allows him to right the ship prior to a theoretical postseason run, the club could come out ahead in the long haul.
Here is to hoping Gerrit heals quickly. Guess those who thought he was tanking on purpose were wrong.
I’ve commented that Cole has a poor attitude. I don’t mean for that to suggest that he is outright tanking. I’m arguing/stating/implying that his attitude has prevented him from doing everything he needs to do to be the best possible version of himself. I don’t think he trained as much as he could have in the offseason (even before his injury) and didn’t come into the season in great shape, which could have played a role in his getting hurt. I’d love for Cole to be the ace we need him to be, it could give us a top 5 rotation in the league.
You do remember he had a rib cage injury in January working ou.t he was limited in spring training. That happened prior to the salary flap
Ps I was referring mostly to the Burgh sports media and those that blindly follow their words as gospel. The local guys were insisting that nothing was wrong with Cole.
Yeah I’m sure he’s not worried about working out right before the biggest couple seasons of his career. A big year this year and next would set him up HUGE in arbitration. I doubt now is when he decided he didn’t care.
Yes, Boros always advises his client to pout and not to work out prior to filing for arbitration. Best way for the client and most importantly the agent to maximize their earnings.
Agree. He’s a Boras guy, which means he’s going to do everything Boras says. Take care of himself, maximize monetary gains and do nothing to jeopardize his assets (his body) until he hits free agency.
Talk of him tanking working out is pure bunk. An attitude now? I can believe that, many athletes think they are 2nd to god and born on a higher plateau.. Just like politicians. Who put them there? Take a guess..
Top 5? Get real, dude. More like .500.
I am not a Buc’s fan. Heck, I barely pay attention to them. Yet, I can recognize that with Cole, Taillon, and Glasnow fronting the staff, they definitely have the potential to be a top 5 rotation in the next year or two. Even Chad Kuhl with an ERA+ of 119 has shown he can be an above average starter. If he can get his k/9 up a little higher he would be a very solid 4. Brault might be given a chance to lock down the #5 spot next year. That would give the Pirates a completely home grown, very young, extremely talented staff. There would be very few teams that could boast a homegrown rotation and I doubt there would be many outside of the Mets, Rays, Indians and possibly the Cardinals that could match their ceiling.
Silly comments like yours with no evidence, facts, or even a judgmental opinion are ruining these boards. How about explaining why you don’t believe they could be a top 5 staff? I miss the days when MLBTR had mods that would keep comments like yours off the site.
They also have Nick Kingham coming back from Tommy John too. If not for that injury, he would have been in the rotation from the beginning of the season. He would have come up mid season last year.
I saw him numerous times in ST, and he absolutely lost weight since the 2015 season ended.
That line about coming into ST out of shape is just asinine.
I was there, and obviously you were not.
Try again!!!
Big fan of Cole. Heal up, Gerrit.
Pirates need to give the Phillies call for Jeremy Helleson
why? Because he should be available very cheap? The Phillies clearly (and wrongly) do not agree so no one will acquire him.
Why should they dump him for nothing? The prospect return has to outweigh the value of an additional compensation pick and the pool value that comes with it
I don’t see any way that you can legitimately consider Pitt a top 5 rotation. Potential? Sure. But many teams have potential. I don’t consider Glasnow a guy with a lot of MLB upside until he starts to harness the control. Like Taillon quite a bit. Cole has ace type stuff.
They just have so much ground to cover to be in the conversation with teams like the Mets, Nationals, Dodgers, Cubs, Cardinals, Giants, Indians, etc. A couple of those teams have legitimate arms waiting as well (Dodgers with Urias, De Leon, Nationals with Giolito, Lopez, Voth, Cardinals with Weaver, Reyes) etc.
Even a team like Houston has top 5 potential, if all their arms work out. McCullers comes back and shakes the injury risk, McHugh returns to 2015 form, Keuchel finds a middle ground between this season and last, Musgrove mimics minor league stats, Martes comes up and pitches like the front line pitcher he’s expected to be, yada yada yada.
I’m with some of the guys here. Not buying Pitt as a top 5 rotation.
I believe bucsfan was speaking on potential. Not now of course. Maybe next year if Cole is healthy again, Taillon, Kuhl, plus Kingham and Glasnow when the come up and if they add a more veteran guy (or if Hutchison pans out like Nova did.) then they are in the conversation. Four of the 1st five teams you mentioned all have injury issues and the Cubs are aging.
Nats have a tough rotation. So do the Cubs. The Mets, like the Pirates, could if ALL of their young guys reach their potential. The Cards are also always tough. The Pirates could have a top 5 or have THE top pitching staff. That’s not out of reach at all. They have had good pitching for years with pitching from the scrap pile. They start a guy like Jeff Locke on a regular basis and are in serious playoff contention, not many teams can do that. When you give Ray Searage some true talent for once, who knows what that dude can do with it.
All that being said, Cole is not a true ace. But true ace, I’m talking the level of Kershaw, Arrieta, Verlander (from a few years ago). Some one that you know will step up in a big game and be consistently dominant each season. Cole has the tools physically, but maybe not mentally. The Pirates gotta wheel and deal to match up with the big money teams. Especially the Cubs. I wonder how much longer Cole will be a Pirate? Maybe package Cole and McCutchen for an incredible return like no one has ever seen before?
I do not see both going in the same deal. They will trade McCutcheon after 2017 (unless something really weird happens and they are out of the playoff picture at the deadline and someone knocks their socks off and Meadows is ready to play everyday. Cole is good until after 2019 I do believe so 2 more years minimum before they trade him. Again, if somebody should knock their socks off in an given off season between now and then you never know but I do not see a package deal because it would cost the trade partner way too much to obtain both. I do believe the Mets did what the Pirates are doing. Developing from their minor league systems.
The pirates are done for 2016.They have no leader and I think it is time to trade Mc Cutchen for some quality pitching.Their play is lackadaisical and that.s the managers fault.You can’t fire all the players so maybe it is time for Hurdle to go.