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Reds Player Tests Positive For Coronavirus

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SATURDAY: Games scheduled for today and tomorrow between the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates has been postponed after a Reds’ player tested positive for COVID-19. There have been no more positive tests beyond the one for the Reds, per MLB Insider Jon Heyman (Twitter links). Given potential exposure during yesterday’s game, there’s more than enough reason to push tonight’s game at the very least.

MLB issued a press release announcing the cancellations, which read: “Following a positive test for COVID-19 by a Cincinnati Reds player, tonight’s scheduled game, as well as tomorrow afternoon’s contest, between the Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park have been postponed to allow for additional testing and to complete the contact tracing process.  Major League Baseball will continue to provide updates as they become available.”

FRIDAY: An unidentified Reds player has tested positive for the coronavirus, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. As a result, the likelihood is that the league will postpone their game against the Pirates on Saturday, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports.

Positive COVID-19 tests across the majors have thrown a wrench into the league’s plans early this season, and it’s now up in the air when the Reds and Pirates will return to action. So far, the teams have split the first two contests in a four-game set, but it appears they’ll have to make up at least one game at a later date.

The virus already impacted both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh before Friday. The Reds’ Matt Davidson tested positive last month, though he has since returned to action, while Mike Moustakas and Nick Senzel missed time after exhibiting symptoms.

Meanwhile, the Pirates have seen the likes of Gregory Polanco, Keone Kela and Ke’Bryan Hayes sit out because of COVID (Polanco and Kela are now back on the MLB roster). Furthermore, Pittsburgh’s three-game series against the Cardinals this week was postponed because of the outbreak that has taken a toll on the St. Louis club.

Pirates Designate Miguel Del Pozo For Assignment

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The Pirates announced Thursday that left-hander Miguel Del Pozo has been designated for assignment. The move opens a spot on the 40-man roster for closer Keone Kela, who has officially been reinstated from the Covid-19 injured list.

Del Pozo, 27, has seen time in the Majors in both of the past two seasons — last year with the Angels — but been clobbered for 18 runs on 17 hits and 16 walks in just 13 innings. He’s punched out 13 hitters in that time, but his overall results obviously haven’t earned him any type of staying power. Del Pozo has respectable numbers up through the Double-A level but has yet to find success in Triple-A or the Majors. The Pirates will have a week to either trade him, release him or look to pass him through outright waivers.

Kela’s return was announced by manager Derek Shelton yesterday. He’ll step right into the closer’s role for a Pirates club that has gone 3-13 to begin the season. Long a high-quality reliever, Kela is a free agent at season’s end and figures to be traded in the coming weeks so long as he remains healthy.

Pirates To Activate Keone Kela

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Pirates closer Keone Kela will be active for the team’s upcoming series against the Reds, manager Derek Shelton announced to reporters Wednesday (Twitter link via Will Graves of the Associated Press). It’ll be the season debut for Kela, who has yet to pitch since missing Summer Camp due to a positive Covid-19 test.

Kela, 27, confirmed in a late-July interview with Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he’d tested positive. Despite being asymptomatic, he wasn’t able to meet the requirement of consecutive negative tests, though, which dragged his absence out into a weeks-long ordeal. He was eventually cleared to report to the team in early August and has been building up since that time.

It’ll be a quick ramp-up for Kela, but he’s surely champing at the bit to return. The hard-throwing righty is a free agent for the first time this winter, so he undoubtedly wants as large a window as possible to impress potential suitors — particularly after a minor elbow issue limited him to 29 2/3 frames last year. There’s ample incentive for the Pirates to get him back on the hill, too. Kela represents one of their most obvious trade chips as the team eyes the future and embarks on what looks to be a rebuilding effort. Starling Marte was already traded over the winter.

Kela has pitched in parts of five Major League seasons. He’s had some injury troubles and at times drawn negative headlines for off-field issues — last year’s altercation with a member of the coaching staff led to a team-issued suspension — but Kela is an undeniably talented late-inning reliever. In 214 2/3 big league innings, he’s pitched to a 3.23 ERA with 11.0 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 0.92 HR/9 and a 41.3 percent ground-ball rate. He’s been particularly strong over the past three seasons, logging a combined 2.84 ERA and 3.20 FIP in 120 1/3 innings of relief between Texas and Pittsburgh. Shelton has previously confirmed that Kela will serve as Pittsburgh’s closer upon his return.

Nick Burdi Suffers Season-Ending Forearm Strain; Surgery Not Yet Being Considered

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Aug. 12: Burdi won’t require surgery to repair what is being termed as a significant forearm strain, Tomczyk tells reporters (Twitter link via Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). The Pirates believe the injury is related to Burdi’s prior TOS procedure. He’ll receive a platelet-rich plasma injection and be shut down for the next 10 to 12 weeks before being reevaluated.

Aug. 5: The Pirates announced today that they’ve placed reliever Nick Burdi on the 45-day injured list. He’s said to be dealing with a right elbow injury. Utilityman JT Riddle has been activated from the injured list to take the open roster spot.

While the full outlook isn’t yet known, this is just wretched news for Burdi. The team already has seen enough to know he won’t be able to return in 2020, director of health medicine Todd Tomczyk told reporters including MLB.com’s Adam Berry (Twitter link).

The 27-year-old flamethrower has dealt with numerous significant arm issues over his halting career. He has already rehabbed through Tommy John and thoracic outlet surgeries. Burdi was once a top 50 draft pick and a high-profile prospect in the Twins’ system, but those arm woes have prevented him from capitalizing on his talents. Burdi has a career 3.44 ERA and better than 12 punchouts per nine innings pitched in the minors. He picked up his first big league save in 2020 and held opponents to a run on two hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings.

Pirates Transfer Clay Holmes To 45-Day Injured List

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The Pirates have transferred righty Clay Holmes from the 10-day injured list to the 45-day injured list, per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to Nick Tropeano, who was claimed off waivers earlier today.

Holmes has been out since July 28 with a forearm strain. He has to spend 45 days on the IL from the date of his initial placement — not from the date he’s transferred to the 45-day list — so there’s technically still time for him to return late in the year. However, Mackey notes that the move to the 45-day IL is expected to end Holmes’ season.

Holmes, 27, pitched just 1 1/3 innings this season before being placed on the IL. The Pirates selected him in the ninth round of the same draft that they took Gerrit Cole first overall. Holmes was expected to be a tough sign out of high school and indeed received a $1.2MM bonus to forgo his commitment to Auburn at the time. He ranked among Pittsburgh’s top 30 prospects for each of the next eight seasons, per Baseball America.

To this point, however, he’s yet to find his footing in the Majors. Holmes had Tommy John surgery in 2014 and missed the entire season as well as the bulk of the 2015 campaign. He’s had control issues in the upper minors since but managed to post solid ERA marks. However, he’s appeared in 47 big league games and been knocked around for a 5.91 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 6.8 BB/9 through 77 2/3 innings. He’s kept the ball on the ground at a whopping 59.2 percent rate, limited homers well (0.81 HR/9) and averaged 94.5 mph on his oft-used sinker in the big leagues. But his penchant for free passes and hit batters (11) have prevented him from establishing himself as a reliable option.

Holmes is out of minor league options, meaning the Bucs will have somewhat of a decision on their hands over the winter. He’ll have to break camp with the club in 2021 or else be designated for assignment. If the club doesn’t expect Holmes to be on its Opening Day roster in 2021, it’s possible he’ll be outrighted early in the offseason as a means of opening some 40-man roster flexibility over the course of the winter. Holmes, however, isn’t yet eligible for arbitration, so the Pirates could also keep him around for some added pitching depth.

Pirates Place Joe Musgrove On 10-Day Injured List

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The Pirates have placed right-hander Joe Musgrove on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his right triceps, per a club announcement. The team didn’t offer a timetable on a potential return.

Acquired in the trade that sent Gerrit Cole to Houston, the now-27-year-old Musgrove has established himself as a useful rotation piece in Pittsburgh. From 2018-19, the former top prospect racked up 285 2/3 innings with the Bucs, pitching to a 4.28 ERA (3.75 FIP) with averages of 8.1 K/9, 1.9 BB/9 and 1.04 HR/9. The overall return on that blockbuster that landed Musgrove in Pittsburgh hasn’t been great, but Musgrove himself has provided plenty of value already — and he’s still controlled through the 2022 season.

The length of Musgrove’s absence will be especially worth monitoring given that we’re already less than three weeks from the 2020 trade deadline (Aug. 31). A healthy Musgrove, because of that aforementioned club control, could be an appealing trade piece to any number of clubs that have had injuries in their rotation.

The 3-13 Pirates have zero designs on contending in 2020, and with the playoff field expanded to 16 teams, it stands to reason that the few pure sellers out there would see plenty of demand for their players — particularly those controlled beyond the 2020 season. Parting with meaningful young talent to rent a player for perhaps as little as one month could be a tough thing for buyers to do, but any team that acquired Musgrove would be doing so for another two seasons beyond the current campaign.

Musgrove’s numbers in 2020 don’t look particularly appealing, although it’s a sample of just three starts that is skewed by a recent drubbing at the hands of a Twins lineup which ranks fifth in the Majors in runs scored. Interested clubs would be judging Musgrove on more than those three starts alone, and his overall 4.45 ERA and 4.03 FIP in 300 1/3 frames as a Pirate are plenty appealing. He’s obviously not a dramatic front-of-the-rotation upgrade, but with so many clubs just needing solid mid-rotation contributors as injuries have piled up elsewhere, Musgrove would generate legitimate interest if this triceps issue proves minor.

Pirates Claim Nick Tropeano

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The Pirates announced Tuesday that they’ve claimed right-hander Nick Tropeano off waivers from the Yankees, who had designated him for assignment over the weekend. Tropeano has been optioned to the Pirates’ alternate training site.

Tropeano, 30 this month, has pitched in parts of five big league seasons, compiling a 4.51 ERA with 8.0 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and 1.57 HR/9. He was at one point a fairly well-regarded prospect in the Astros and Angels organizations, but injuries have slowed his career. Tropeanos had Tommy John surgery that cost him all of the 2017 season, and he has since battled shoulder and elbow troubles that have limited him to 182 innings between the minors and big leagues.

Last season, Tropeano was hit hard in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League , posting a 5.87 ERA in 79 2/3 frames. Offense was elevated in that already hitter-friendly league, however, just as it was in the Majors thanks to alterations to the ball’s composition. Prior to last year’s ugly results, Tropeano had a career 3.67 ERA in 223 Triple-A frames. He’ll give the Bucs some depth for their rotation and a possible long relief option.

Cardinals-Pirates Series Postponed; Cardinals Expect Additional COVID-19 Positive

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August 9: This week’s series between the Cardinals and Pirates has been postponed in its entirety, as first reported by Jon Heyman of MLB Network. As a result, the Cardinals have had 15 consecutive postponements and will have just 46 days to make up 55 games if they are to play the entire 2020 schedule. In addition, Heyman reports that the Cardinals are expected to reveal “at least one” additional positive COVID-19 test after yesterday’s round of testing.

MLB officially announced the cancellation with a press release that reads: “Major League Baseball announced today that the upcoming three-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates, scheduled for Monday through Wednesday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, has been postponed.  In light of the most recent positive test results, MLB and the Club believe it is prudent to conduct additional testing while players and staff are quarantined before the team returns to play.  More information regarding the Cardinals’ resumption of play will be announced later in the week.”

August 8, 9:57 PM: It’s been confirmed by Jeff Passan and Jason Mackey (via Twitter). The Cardinals and Pirates’ Monday meeting has been postponed.

6:17 PM: The St. Louis Cardinals have been told that they won’t be coming together again as a team for at least 3-5 days, per The Athletic’s Mark Saxon (via Twitter). Obviously, the implication here is that their upcoming series with the Pittsburgh Pirates will be canceled. Major League Baseball has not made an official announcement as of yet.

Cardinals players will continue with personal workouts for the time being – they haven’t seen game action in over a week. The Cardinals last saw the diamond on Wednesday, July 29th in a 3-0 loss to the Twins. They are likely to go more than two weeks before returning to the field. While most of the rest of the league is pushing towards (or already past) the quarter mark for the season, the Cardinals are stuck on a 2-3 record after dealing with the second major clubhouse outbreak of coronavirus since the game’s reboot. It remains unclear how/when/if the Cardinals will be able to make up the missed games.

Obviously, containing the virus is priority A through Z right now for the Cardinals, who released the names of 8 players who have tested positive for COVID-19. They have the benefit of the Marlins’ experience from earlier this season, but there’s no tried-and-true approach to handling an internal outbreak of this scale. There are, of course, protocols in place, but the nature of COVID-19 leaves a great deal of general uncertainty.

The Pirates will get a couple of days off after facing a scare of a different sort in their game with the Tigers today. Phillip Evans and Gregory Polanco collided on a pop fly in four territory resulting in Evans leaving the game on a stretcher, per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It was described as a scary scene, and we will update you on Evans’ condition with a full post as more information about his current status is revealed. Polanco stayed in the game.

As of right now, it does appear that the Pirates (and Cardinals) will have the next couple of days off. The Pirates were scheduled to be in St. Louis on Monday night to begin a three-game series.

Braves Add Robbie Erlin To Active Roster

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TODAY: The Braves announced that Erlin has been activated onto the big league roster.  Sobotka had been optioned to the minor league site but is now quickly back with the club to serve as the extra player for today’s doubleheader.

AUGUST 7: The Braves announced that they have claimed left-hander Robbie Erlin off waivers from the Pirates. In other moves, the Braves placed right-hander Chris Martin on the 10-day injured list with an esophageal constriction and recalled RHP Chad Sobotka.

The 29-year-old Erlin had been in limbo since Pittsburgh designated him Aug. 2. He threw 3 1/3 innings of two-run ball for the club before it bounced him.  Erlin was a quality prospect with the Padres during his younger days, but he has only managed a 4.58 ERA across 108 appearances (38 starts) and 316 1/3 innings since he debuted in 2013. To Erlin’s credit, though, he has logged a very solid 3.57 FIP with 7.2 K/9 and 1.79 BB/9 as a major leaguer.

Erlin could step into the Braves’ bullpen, which will suddenly go without one of its most prominent options in Martin, whom the team re-signed to a two-year, $14MM contract in free agency. Martin, 34, threw four innings and allowed one earned runs on two hits and one walk (three strikeouts) before his IL placement.

Pirates Place Phillip Evans On 45-Day IL; Promote Jose Osuna, Brandon Waddell

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10:09AM: The Pirates have officially placed Evans on the 45-day injured list.  The Bucs also announced the Mears option, the Osuna call-up, and the selection of Waddell’s contract.

8:55AM: Evans will likely miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken jaw and a concussion, Mackey reports.

8:33AM: The Pirates will be calling up infielder/outfielder Jose Osuna and left-hander Brandon Waddell from their alternate training site, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (Twitter links).  Righty Nick Mears will be one of the players being sent to make room on the active roster, a day after Mears tossed an inning of relief to mark his Major League debut.

While no formal announcement has yet been made by the Pirates, Phillip Evans is surely headed to the injured list in the wake of yesterday’s brutal collision with teammate Gregory Polanco.  Evans and Polanco were both chasing for a fly ball in foul ground during the sixth inning of Pittsburgh’s 11-5 loss to the Tigers, and ran into each other at full speed with Evans’ head taking the full brunt of Polanco’s elbow and forearm.  Evans appeared to be conscious, though he was taken off the field in a stretcher and taken to hospital for evaluation.

Osuna is back on the Bucs’ roster for the second time this season, having already appeared in six games for the club before being optioned to the alternate camp on Thursday.  Experienced at both corner infield and outfield positions, Osuna has shown flashes of promise over his 256 MLB games, and generated some roughly league-average offense (99 OPS+, 97 wRC+) with his .264/.310/.456 slash line and 10 home runs over 285 PA in 2019.

Waddell was only added to the Pirates’ 60-man player pool on Friday, and another transaction will be forthcoming in order for the Bucs to make room for him on their 40-man roster.  The southpaw is set to make his Major League debut a little over five years after being selected out of the University of Virginia with a fifth-round pick in the 2015 draft.  Waddell has a 4.12 ERA, 2.07 K/BB rate, and 8.0 K/9 over 478 innings in Pittsburgh’s farm system, starting 85 of his 115 games.  It’s possible Waddell could just be getting a cup of coffee on the roster (like Mears) as the Pirates continue to cycle through pitchers, though the Bucs’ almost team-wide pitching struggles could provide opportunity for Waddell to gain a foothold in the big leagues.

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