Left wrist injury forces Cervelli to miss game
ARLINGTON, Texas — Catcher Francisco Cervelli was not in the starting lineup for the Pirates Wednesday afternoon against the Texas Rangers.
Cervelli was hit in the left wrist with a 93 mph pitch by Rangers starter Adrian Sampson Tuesday. He initially stayed in the game, but left a few pitches later, and Elias Diaz pinchran for him. Diaz remained in the game and started Wednesday.
Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk gave an update Wednesday on Cervelli.
“The initial exam from last night didn’t show any acute fractures,” Tomczyk said via conference call. “We are treating this as a soft tissue injury. They are assessing his availability for today’s game.”
Cervelli was in uniform Wednesday but did not play. Catcher Steven Baron entered the Pirates clubhouse about an hour before the game. Baron, acquired in a minor league deal in December, has a .214/ .267/.393 slash line with a home run in 28 games for Class AAA Indianapolis this season.
The team hasn’t announced a move yet, but the Pirates could have brought Baron up in case Cervelli can’t play for a while.
More injury updates
• Tomcyzk also discussed the condition of relief pitcher Nick Burdi, who was placed on the injured list April 23 with right bicep/elbow pain.
“Nick was examined by Dr. Todd Meister earlier this week,” Tomcyzk said. “Dr. Meister felt there were no concerns on the elbow and forearm.”
Meister recommended that Burdi seek another opinion about the root of his bicep pain.”
• Chris Archer hasn’t thrown since his start last Wednesday. According to Tomcyzk, the thumb inflammation makes gripping a baseball painful..
“He is continuing with his conditioning and strengthening and armcare routine,” Tomcyzk said. “He is a starting pitcher and has pitched every fifth day. We envision him picking up a ball and throwing in the coming days.”
Archer was with the team for the two games against the Rangers, and it seems that he should be able to pitch again once his 10 days on the injured list end.
• Gregory Polanco was the designated hitter Wednesday against the Rangers. Polanco is still working through strengthening his shoulder. The interleague game allowed the Pirates to play Bryan Reynolds and Melky Cabrera along with Polanco and Starling Marte.
Reynolds has a hit in each of his nine major league games and is 11 for 26 overall. Cabrera entered the game on a seven-game hitting streak and is hitting 10 for 25 with two doubles, two homers and three RBIs in tht span.
Reynolds and Cabrera have seen so much playing time partly because of injuries to Lonnie Chisenhall and Corey Dickerson (shoulder strain). Chisenhall has a mild calf strain suffered while rehabbing his hand injury. Dickerson is neither throwing nor hitting.