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Corey Dickerson To Begin Rehab Assignment

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The Pirates have been without Corey Dickerson since April 4 due to a shoulder strain, but the outfielder is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate this evening, per a team announcement.

It’s certainly welcome news for the Pirates, although the Pittsburgh outfield has been surprisingly productive even without Dickerson’s bat in the middle of the lineup. Melky Cabrera, signed to a minor league contract in the offseason, has given the Bucs a surprisingly strong .333/.370/.464 slash with three homers and nine doubles in 147 trips to the plate. In the other outfield corner, Gregory Polanco has turned in a similarly strong .278/.343/.522 slash and belted five long balls in 99 plate appearances since his own return from the injured list. Even rookie Bryan Reynolds has been brilliant since debuting earlier this season. In 89 plate appearances, the switch-hitter has a .321/.382/.568 slash with four homers and eight walks against 19 strikeouts.

If there’s been any weak spot in the outfield, it’s been in center, where Starling Marte has hit just .244/.275/.415 in 172 plate appearances. Marte is still hitting for power, playing solid defense and providing value on the basepaths, but he’s drawn only three walks all year. The decline in on-base skills hasn’t been accompanied by an uptick in strikeouts, but Marte’s apparent impatience at the dish, paired with some poor luck on balls in play, has weighed down his overall output.

It’s not clear how long Dickerson will need on his rehab assignment, but the strong production the Pirates have received in the corners suggests they won’t feel an urgency to rush him back. How he’ll fit into the lineup is a greater question. Dickerson, 30, slashed .300/.330/.474 in 533 plate appearances last season and will presumably be a prominent figure in the outfield once he’s at full strength. Cabrera seems likeliest for a reduced role, given that he’s playing on a minor league deal and his offense has slipped a bit over the past couple of weeks anyhow. Regardless of how the playing time shakes out, the Pirates will file it under the “good problem to have” category. Dickerson’s return will only deepen the outfield/bench mix for a Pirates club that, at 25-22, sits 3.5 games back in the NL Central and just one game back in the Wild Card race.

For Dickerson himself, a productive return will be of particular importance. He entered the season with five-plus years of Major League service time and is slated to become a free agent for the first time in his career this coming offseason.

JB Shuck Trying To Become Two-Way Player

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The Pirates will attempt to convert veteran outfielder JB Shuck into a two-way player, director of player development Larry Broadway told Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic. Shuck will begin honing his pitching skills at Triple-A Indianapolis, where he has been playing since the Pirates outrighted him May 8.

The journeyman Shuck, 31, cracked Pittsburgh’s injury-plagued outfield entering the season after signing a minor league pact during the winter. However, as has been the case throughout his career, he didn’t provide much at the plate. The lefty-swinging Shuck, a lifetime .243/.296/.314 hitter in 1,289 major league plate appearances, batted .213/.339/.255 in 57 PA before the Pirates removed him from their 40-man roster.

Although Shuck’s hasn’t established himself as an offensive asset since debuting in the majors with the Astros in 2011, the Pirates aren’t abandoning hope that he’ll be able to help them down the line. Broadway explained to Biertempfel that the Pirates’ goal is for Shuck to emerge as a two-way contributor in the majors, not just the minors. Shuck’s on board with Pittsburgh’s outside-the-box thinking, telling Biertempfel he’s “all for trying it” if it’s for the betterment of his career. He also thinks “more two-way guys” could become “a new trend,” thanks in part to a rule that will enable teams to designate “two-way players” effective next year. But Shuck will first have to total 20 appearances with at least three PA as a position player (he’s at 10 right now) and 20 innings as a pitcher to become eligible for the two-way designation in 2020.

Contributing as a pitcher isn’t foreign to Shuck, who was a two-way player in high school and college. As an Ohio State Buckeye, Shuck amassed 223 innings of 3.87 ERA ball. The southpaw has since totaled a pair of mop-up appearances in the majors, including a scoreless, one-hit, one-walk frame in a blowout loss to the Diamondbacks earlier this season.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/17/19

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We’ll track some minor moves from around the league here…

  • Southpaw Jerry Blevins was outrighted by the Braves, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Blevins had been designated for assignment recently; whether he’ll accept the assignment isn’t yet clear, but he has the right to decline. The veteran reliever only saw six appearances with the Atlanta organization and they didn’t go very well. He suffered a big drop-off in strikeouts last season. That being said, Blevins has compiled nearly five hundred innings of MLB pitching with a 3.57 ERA and 9.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9; it certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see him back up to the majors this year.
  • The Red Sox signed right-hander Dylan Thompson to a minor league contract, per an announcement from the independent American Association (Twitter link). Thompson had been slated to open the season with the AA’s Winnipeg Goldeyes before his contract was purchased by the Red Sox. A former Rockies farmhand, Thompson spent the past three seasons pitching for the AA’s Sioux Falls Canaries — primarily as a reliever in 2017 but exclusively as a starter in 2018. While his overall numbers don’t immediately jump out, the right-hander’s sinker movement is eye-opening, to say the least (as depicted in GIF form by Rob Friedman, on Twitter). Whether Thompson can parlay that wiffle-esque movement into success in affiliated ball remains to be seen, but he’ll make for an interesting addition to the lower levels of Boston’s system. He’s opened the year with Class-A Advanced Salem and allowed a pair of runs on four hits and three walks with two strikeouts in three innings.
  • Left-hander Tyler Lyons accepted his outright assignment after clearing waivers this week, per an announcement from the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis. Lyons, 31, was dominant out of the Cardinals’ bullpen as recently as 2017 — 2.83 ERA, 11.3 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 0.50 HR/9 in 54 innings — but has struggled since that excellent showing. The southpaw yielded 16 runs in 16 2/3 innings last season with St. Louis and was rocked for five runs in four innings with the Pirates earlier this season. He had the option of rejecting his assignment in favor of free agency but will remain in the Pittsburgh organization as he works toward another opportunity later in the year.

Pirates Place Trevor Williams On IL, Outright Jacob Stallings

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The Pirates announced a series of roster moves this evening. Starter Trevor Williams is going on the 10-day injured list with a right side strain, creating a need for pitching reinforcements.

Righty Clay Holmes was recalled. He’ll join Geoff Hartlieb in ascending to the active roster. With a need for one additional active roster spot and one additional 40-man spot, the Bucs optioned righty Richard Rodriguez and outrighted catcher Jacob Stallings (who had been on the IL with a neck injury).

There’s no clear indication yet as to the timeline for Williams. It’s unfortunate timing for both player and team; he was off to a strong start after an excellent 2018 campaign. Through 54 innings this year, Williams carries a 3.33 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9.

Pirates To Select Geoff Hartlieb

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The Pirates will select the contract of righty Geoff Hartlieb, according to Stephen Nesbitt of The Athletic (via Twitter). Corresponding roster moves aren’t yet known.

Hartlieb, 25, has turned in a dozen solid appearances this year at Triple-A. Through 19 innings, he carries a 3.32 ERA with 10.9 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9.

The numbers don’t jump off the page for Hartlieb, but he’s capable of reaching triple digits with his fastball. He has worked exclusively as a reliever in the minors but does have quite a lot of multi-inning appearances throughout his four seasons as a professional.

Pirates Activate Chris Archer From Injured List

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TODAY: Archer has been officially activated, as per a team announcement.  Right-hander Clay Holmes was optioned to Triple-A to create room on the 25-man roster.

SUNDAY: Pirates right-hander Chris Archer is slated to come off the injured list Wednesday for a start against the Diamondbacks, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was among those to tweet.

Archer has been been on the IL with right thumb inflammation since April 27, the day after he turned in his lone horrid start of the season in a loss to the Dodgers. In all, the 30-year-old has notched 27 innings of 4.33 ERA/4.80 FIP ball with four walks per nine, a 32.4 percent groundball rate and a 15.2 percent home run-to-fly ball rate.

Nearly all of Archer’s 2019 numbers rank as personal worsts, and despite an impressive ability to fan hitters (9.67 K/9 this season, 9.73 career), he has fallen somewhat short in the run prevention department in recent years. Archer hasn’t managed a sub-4.00 ERA since 2015, the last season of an excellent three-year stretch, though he was still worth between 2.6 and 5.1 fWAR in each of the previous five campaigns.

Although Archer has looked more like a mid-rotation starter than an ace of late, the Pirates still surrendered a boatload to acquire him and his team-friendly contract from the Rays last July. Pittsburgh gave up a young tandem consisting of righty Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Austin Meadows, both of whom failed to live up to their high-end prospect billing with the team but now look like blossoming stars in Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, the gamble didn’t pay off in the form of a playoff berth for the Pirates last year, and though the Bucs are off to a 19-17 start this season, they’ll have trouble overtaking the Cubs, Brewers and Cardinals in the National League Central.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/13/19

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the game:

  • The Pirates outrighted southpaw Tyler Lyons after he cleared waivers, per a club announcement. The 31-year-old reliever will have the option of electing free agency, if he has not already decided to accept the assignment. Through seven seasons in the majors, Lyons carries a 4.20 ERA with 9.2 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9. He gave up five earned in his four frames this year with Pittsburgh, though he had shown better at Triple-A to open the season.
  • Righty Michael Blazek is back in the affiliated ranks after signing on with the Nationals, Triple-A communications director Paul Braverman tweeted. Blazek is headed to Fresno after initially signing with the indy ball Lincoln Saltdogs. The 30-year-old reliever has thrown 123 innings in the bigs, mostly with the Brewers, working to a 4.39 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9. Blazek had not actually appeared yet for the Saltdogs, whose season hasn’t yet begun.

Pirates Place Jung Ho Kang On IL, Select Jake Elmore

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The Pirates have announced that infielder Jung Ho Kang has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left side strain. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by Jake Elmore, whose contract was selected.

In order to open a 40-man roster spot, the Bucs shifted righty Jameson Taillon to the 60-day injured list. Taillon, who is sidelined with a flexor strain, won’t be eligible to return to the active roster until early July.

Kang is struggling in his first full season since 2016 — a layoff that occurred because of his troubling history of drinking and driving. He’s hitting just .133/.204/.300 in 98 trips to the plate this year. Kang is swinging and missing far more often than he used to. He’ll be shut down for three days and then reevaluated, per club director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk (via MLB.com’s Adam Berry, on Twitter).

It’s the first MLB action since 2016 for Elmore. The 33-year-old has a .215/.297/.280 slash in 478 career plate appearances at the game’s highest level. He has been off to rather a strong start to the year at Triple-A, though, with a .380/.444/.546 slash in 124 plate appearances.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/12/19

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Keeping up with this weekend’s minor moves…

Latest transactions:

  • The Pirates outrighted left-hander Tyler Lyons to Triple-A Indianapolis, as per MLB.com’s official transactions page.  Lyons cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week.  This is the second time in as many seasons that Lyons has been outrighted, as he was also removed from the Cardinals’ 40-man roster last August in the midst of an injury-plagued year that saw Lyons post an 8.64 ERA over 16 2/3 frames for St. Louis.  After signing a minors deal with Pittsburgh over the winter, Lyons didn’t turn things around in a brief stint for the Bucs, with an 11.25 ERA over four Major League innings.  The southpaw did perform better in Triple-A, however, and will head back to the farm to try and recapture the form that made him a solid-to-very good bullpen piece for the Cardinals from 2013-17.

Earlier today:

  • The Tigers outrighted right-hander Drew VerHagen to Triple-A Toledo on Saturday after he cleared waivers, per a team announcement. Because VerHagen has been outrighted in the past, he could have declined the assignment. He chose to accept it, however, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports. Detroit kicked VerHagen off its 40-man roster again last weekend when it designated him for assignment after a calamitous performance versus Kansas City. The Royals pounded VerHagen for six earned runs on five hits and three walks in one inning, contributing to the 28-year-old’s hefty 15.00 ERA across six frames this season. VerHagen entered the year with a sub-5.00 ERA/FIP across 141 major league innings, though, and has been a useful arm at the Triple-A level.
  • The Diamondbacks have released infielder Kelby Tomlinson from his minor-league deal, reports MLBTR’s own Steve Adams. After signing with the D-Backs last offseason, Tomlinson has posted just a .596 OPS at the Triple-A level in 2019, failing to crack the big league roster, which would have earned him a $850K salary. In a Major League career spanning parts of four seasons, the 29-year-old owns a career .265/.331/.332 slash line to go with 19 stolen bases. Though the numbers are not especially impressive, Tomlinson is capable of handling three infield positions and played sparingly in left field with the Giants.

Pirates Acquire Chris Stratton

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The Pirates have acquired righty Chris Stratton from the Angels for cash considerations, per a team release. The 28-year-old was designated for assignment by Los Angeles earlier this week.

Stratton, 28, was acquired earlier in the season from San Francisco for lefty Williams Jerez. The former first-rounder fought through five and a half difficult minor league seasons before cracking the Giant rotation in mid-2017, where he opened eyes with a super-high spin rate on his hammer curve. The fastball, though, has always been a bit light, and the righty’s long struggled to miss bats and command the zone. In five starts with LA this season, Stratton posted a dreadful 142 FIP-/127 xFIP- with six homers allowed in 29 1/3 IP.

Still, he’ll likely get a crack at a decimated Pittsburgh rotation, which’s already lost righties Chris Archer and Jameson Taillon to the IL. Nick Kingham and Steven Brault had attempted to fill the temporary void, to middling-to-disastrous results thus far. Top prospect Mitch Keller, it seems, is not quite ready to make the jump.

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