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Travis Swaggerty

Pirates Designate Michael Perez For Assignment

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The Pirates announced they’ve selected four prospects — infielder Liover Peguero and outfielders Canaan Smith-Njigba, Travis Swaggerty and Jack Suwinski — to the 40-man roster. To create space, the club designated catcher Michael Pérez for assignment.

A waiver claim out of the Rays organization last offseason, Pérez saw 70 games worth of action with the Pirates behind number one catcher Jacob Stallings. Unfortunately for both player and team, Perez continued to struggle at the plate despite providing serviceable defense behind it. Through 231 plate appearances the left-handed catcher produced at a .143/.221/.290 clip, though he did hit a career-best 7 home runs. He’s likely to latch onto an organization this winter as catching depth.

Liover Peguero, acquired in the trade that sent Starling Marte to Arizona, is ranked the #5 prospect in a solid Pittsburgh farm system. The speedy 20-year-old performed respectably last season across 90 games at the high-A level, setting a new high watermark in home runs with 14 to go with 28 steals (in 34 tries). The resulting .270/.332/.444 output, plus what scouts consider to be above average defense at shortstop, gave Pittsburgh ample reason to protect their up-and-coming prospect.

The 22-year-old Canaan Smith-Njigba was a 4th-rounder by the Yankees in 2017 before they traded him to Pittsburgh as part of the Jameson Taillon deal. A solid .274/.398/.406 led to a cup of coffee at Triple-A, and a terrific showing in the Arizona Fall League has the left fielder knocking on the Major League door.

Centerfielder Travis Swaggerty, a first-round draft pick by Pittsburgh in 2018 and a one-time top 100 prospect in the eyes of some evaluators, saw little action this past season. The left-handed hitter produced a decent .220/.333/.439 line in 12 Triple-A games before incurring a season-ending shoulder injury. Well-rounded tools at a premium position, plus his pedigree, will keep him in the Pirates organization for awhile longer.

Lastly, Jack Suwinski, acquired in this past summer’s Adam Frazier deal, had a decent 2021 season in his own right. The 23-year-old popped 19 home runs across 111 games at the Double-A level, culminating in a strong .262/.383/.485 slash. Though most of that production came prior to the trade, MLB.com lists Suwinski among the Pirates top prospects (#29) and projects him as a bat-first option in right field.

NL Central Notes: Wong, Cardinals, Pirates

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Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong left last night’s game after three innings due to a left oblique strain, after striking out swinging in what ended up as his final at-bat of the game.  Brewers manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy and other reporters that “at this point, it’s day to day.  It’s not bad, but it’s concerning because it’s the same spot” that Wong previously felt a strain earlier this season.  That initial oblique issue sent Wong to the injured list and caused him to miss 11 games in April.

Wong has been a strong part of Milwaukee’s success this season, delivering his usual stellar glovework at second base while hitting .280/.343/.441 (114 OPS+, 115 wRC+) over 178 plate appearances.  Ideally, Wong could avoid the IL altogether, but even another relatively minimal absence would count as a minor victory considering how oblique injuries can often be longer-term problems.  Keston Hiura, Luis Urias, or Daniel Robertson are fill-in options at second base if Wong indeed has to miss significant time, but none can match Wong’s all-around contributions.

Some more injury updates from around the NL Central…

  • With Miles Mikolas and Jordan Hicks both on the injured list, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters (including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat) said the “best case” scenario is to have both right-handers back in August.  Mikolas is roughly 3-5 weeks from being re-evaluated after receiving a stem cell injection as he works his way back from forearm tightness, while Hicks is out until at least July 1 after being placed on the 60-day IL due to elbow inflammation.  Given that both hurlers have had significant long-term injury absences prior to these current health issues, the Cards will surely be as cautious as possible in bringing either Mikolas or Hicks back into action, despite the team’s pitching needs.
  • Max Moroff is considering surgery to address his ailing left shoulder, after the Cardinals infielder went on the 10-day IL with a shoulder subluxation last week.  If Moroff doesn’t opt for surgery, he’ll still be out of action for at least 4-6 weeks.
  • Pirates GM Ben Cherington hinted last week that outfield prospect Travis Swaggerty was leaning towards shoulder surgery, and the team announced yesterday (hat tip to The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel) that Swaggerty indeed went under the knife and will miss the rest of the season.  Swaggerty is expected to be fully recovered in roughly five months, though it’s still a tough setback for the 10th overall pick of the 2018 draft.
  • Jose Soriano has also hit an injury speedbump, as the Pirates right-hander experienced “recurrent elbow discomfort” while on a minor league rehab assignment.  Soriano underwent Tommy John surgery in February 2020, though the Bucs still picked him off the Angels’ roster with the first pick in last December’s Rule 5 draft.  Despite the missed time, MLB Pipeline still ranked Soriano 24th among all Pirates prospect, highlighting his 70-grade fastball and a 55-grade curve.

Pirates Injury Notes: Kuhl, Hayes, Moran, Evans, Swaggerty

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Pirates GM Ben Cherington updated reporters (including Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) with the latest on several injured Bucs players.  The most imminent news concerns Chad Kuhl, who will be activated from the 10-day injured list to start Monday’s game with the Royals.

Kuhl was placed on the IL on April 22 due to right shoulder discomfort.  After tossing a pair of rehab outings at Triple-A, Kuhl will look to get back on the big league mound and turn the page on what has been a tough 2021 season.  Kuhl has a 6.32 ERA over his first four starts and 15 2/3 innings, in large part due to an extreme lack of control — Kuhl has 16 walks in those 15 2/3 innings.

“Part of Chad’s rehab was not just getting healthy, it was making sure that he continued to build off what he had done in that last start and attack the strike zone,” Cherington said, referencing Kuhl’s final start before his IL visit.  While Kuhl still allowed three earned runs in five innings against the Brewers on April 18, he did walk just one Milwaukee batter, while striking out six.

Ke’Bryan Hayes might also soon be returning to the Pirates, as Cherington indicated that “all reports have been good” about Hayes’ Triple-A rehab stint.  The star rookie went on the IL after just two games due to left wrist inflammation, and his recovery process already hit one setback in April.  With so much time missed, Cherington felt Hayes needed “almost a Spring Training progression” to get ramped up, since “the last thing we wanted to do was sort of rush him back and then something else happens because his body was just not ready….So that’s why you’ve seen maybe a little longer progression than we would in some other cases with rehab.”

Hayes has already appeared in seven games with Triple-A Indianapolis, and figures to clock a few more appearances before June 3, when he is eligible to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list.  It is quite possible Hayes will be activated that day, when the Pirates begin a four-game series at home with the Marlins.

Colin Moran and Phillip Evans are also likely to be starting rehab assignment of their own, possibly as early as within the next two days, Cherington implied.  Moran has been out since May 9 due to a groin injury, while Evans went on the IL on May 13 because of a hamstring strain.  Evans’ versatility helped the Pirates fill several holes around the diamond before he too was lost to the injured list, while Moran has hit well as the team’s regular first baseman.

On the minor league front, Cherington said that Travis Swaggerty’s dislocated right shoulder is “going in [the] direction” of requiring surgery.  Swaggerty suffered the injury while diving back to first base during a Triple-A game, and he has spent much of the last two weeks weighing recovery options.  Swaggerty was the tenth overall pick of the 2018 draft, and MLB Pipeline ranks him as the ninth-best prospect in Pittsburgh’s farm system.  Surgery would seemingly end the season for the outfielder, an especially tough blow since Swaggerty already lost a year of development when the 2020 minor league season was canceled.

Pirates Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Travis Swaggerty

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The Pirates are in agreement with first-round pick Travis Swaggerty, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter). The former University of South Alabama center fielder’s deal, which is still pending a physical, will promise him a $4.4MM signing bonus. That checks in a bit shy of the No. 10 overall slot’s value of $4,560,200.

Swaggerty, 20, was one of the more well-rounded bats in the draft. His junior season with the Jaguars saw him bat .296/.455/.526 with 13 homers, 10 doubles and nine steals (14 attempts) over the course of 57 games and 277 plate appearances. Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs ranked Swaggerty fourth in the draft class, as did ESPN’s Keith Law (subscription required). Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com rated Swaggerty 11th among draft-eligible prospects, as did the team over at Baseball America (subscription link).

Swaggerty draws average or better ratings for each of his tools, with his current calling card coming in the form of plus speed and defense in center field. He drew plenty of walks this season, and most scouting reports agree that he’s added some strength and lift to his swing, giving him solid power potential as well. MLB.com’s report suggested Brett Gardner as a loose comparison, noting that Swaggerty has more power and less speed than Gardner had at this point in his career. Fangraphs’ report notes that he has some mechanical issues in his swing that prevented him from performing at a level that’s more commensurate with his tantalizing set of tools, so the Pirates will work to further hone his approach at the plate as he transitions into pro ball.

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