Tough call: Hughes out
Bullpen vet is given release
BRADENTON, Fla. — The Pirates will release Jared Hughes, severing ties with the right-handed sinkerballer who spent parts of the past six seasons pitching out of their bullpen.
Hughes cleared outright waivers, the Pirates announced Wednesday, and the club put him on unconditional-release waivers. He struggled this spring, allowing 15 runs ( 12 earned) and 16 hits in 9⅓ innings,
“It was a hard decision, maybe one of the hardest I’ve been involved in,” manager Clint Hurdle said.
Hughes was set to make $2,825,000 this season. By releasing him now, the Pirates will owe him 45 days’ worth of that contract, roughly $740,000.
The Pirates drafted Hughes out of Long Beach State in 2006, and he made his debut in 2011. In 313 relief appearances during the past six seasons, he had a 2.82 ERA. Last year, he had a 3.03 ERA in 59⅓ innings.
“He believes his best ball’s in front of him, and we’re going to pull for him like heck,” Hurdle said.
Releasing Hughes, Hurdle said, frees the Pirates to use Juan Nicasio in different ways and not only as a long reliever. Lefthander Wade LeBlanc, Rule 5 lefthander Tyler Webb and righthander A.J. Schugel are options for the final two bullpen spots, as is whichever starter — Tyler Glasnow and Trevor Williams are the candidates — doesn’t earn a rotation spot.
Passport problem
A problem with Gregory Polanco’s passport will prevent him from traveling to Montreal with the Pirates this weekend, general manager Neal Huntington said Wednesday.
Polanco might not have gone anyway because of his sore left shoulder, but now he will definitely stay behind. The problem is related to his participation in the World Baseball Classic.
“We’ve had to apply for visas for everybody that needed one going into Canada,” Huntington said. “The guys at the World Baseball Classic, it was a little bit more challenging because of timing and because of all of their paperwork and all of their passports being with them.”
Huntington said Polanco’s visa is fine and the issue concerns only the passport. The Pirates expected to get Starling Marte’s passport back Wednesday. Francisco Cervelli’s passport was not an issue because Italy was eliminated earlier than the Dominican Republic.
Huntington said he did not expect any issues when the Pirates play the Blue Jays in Toronto Aug. 11-13.
“We’ll handle it early in the season,” Huntington said. “Given the shoulder and now the glitch with his passport, he’s not going to make the trip.”
As far as his shoulder goes, Polanco played catch Wednesday and batted in a minor league game at Pirate City. Head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk said there is no long-term concern regarding the shoulder, which also limited Polanco to pinch-hitting in August.
“When a guy has a past medical history, as Gregory did, we are a little bit more cautious,” Tomczyk said. “We’re also aggressive enough to get him prepared for opening day.”
Stewart improving
Chris Stewart, who has a slight strain in his left groin, is “progressing very nicely,” Tomczyk said. Stewart has caught bullpen sessions, hit, thrown and done receiving drills.
“Our plan, our goal, is for Chris to get engaged into back-to-back nine-inning games sometime later this week,” Tomczyk said.