With so many veterans injured, outfield is becoming child’s play
While the Pirates outfield has undergone a significant and successful youth movement, with three rookies starting for the first time in manager Derek Shelton’s tenure on Tuesday, there’s growing concern over a couple of veterans who were originally counted upon to play significant roles.
Greg Allen, sidelined the entire season with a left hamstring strain, now also has a mild right hamstring injury and won’t begin a rehab assignment until at least the end of the month, Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday.
Tomczyk said Ben Gamel is “progressing” from his left hamstring strain and that the Pirates expect him to begin a running progression early next week. At the same time, Gamel’s return is not imminent.
“He’s still a little bit away from game activity,” Tomczyk said.
Without those two, the Pirates have turned things over to the kids, with Jack Suwinski, Cal Mitchell and Travis Swaggerty forming that all-rookie outfield. Tucupita Marcano and Diego Castillo also have seen time alongside Bryan Reynolds.
The one possible reinforcement the Pirates could get is Jake Marisnick, who had left thumb surgery May 12. He was expected to miss 4-6 weeks before resuming baseball activities, and he has been doing that.
The bigger issue now is pain tolerance and Marisnick figuring out how much he
can do. Other updates
• Yoshi Tsutsugo (lumbar muscle strain) has resumed light baseball activities and is expected to ramp up his progression when the Pirates return home next weekend.
• Dillon Peters (lumbar muscle strain) could resume throwing as early as this weekend in Atlanta.
• Heath Hembree (right calf strain) will begin a rehab assignment Wednesday with Class AAA Indianapolis.
• Kevin Newman (left groin strain) is on track to rejoin the Pirates when his 60day IL stint ends June 26.
• Henry Davis (left wrist) started a rehab assignment Tuesday in the Florida Complex League and was promptly hit in the left elbow. He’s fine, however, and was removed from the game after seven innings because that’s all the Pirates planned on having Davis play.
• Quinn Priester (oblique) will begin a rehab assignment with Low-A Bradenton. Tomczyk also expects Nick Gonzales (right heel contusion) to be back in games this week for Class AA Altoona.
Heineman improving
The game has started to slow down for Tyler Heineman. Now, the Pirates are enjoying an uptick in their new catcher’s offensive production.
After going 1 for 17 in his first 17 games after being claimed off waivers May 16 from Toronto, Heineman had five hits in his past 17 at-bats.
In fact, the 30-year-old journeyman has nudged his way in front of Michael Perez, starting eight of the past 11 games.
Early on, Heineman poured his effort into the pitching staff but lately has been able to shift his focus back to offense. “Things have slowed down for me. I’m not really thinking about as much what I need to do defensively.”
While he had a .336 average and .990 OPS in 73 Class AAA games in 2019, Heineman has struggled to match those numbers. He hit .191 in 15 games with the Giants in 2020, then went 4 for 15 in 10 games this season with Toronto before the Pirates claimed him.
“If I have to sacrifice offense to learn pitchers, so be it,” Heineman said. “That’s my No. 1 goal and the reason I’m here.”
One interesting part about Heineman is his skill set for a catcher. He actually plays more like a second baseman, where he can run a little, and he’s not a bad bunter. Heineman ascribed it to his UCLA career, where players in the program took special pride in doing the little things. He’s also smart enough to know he needs to find nontraditional ways to add value.
Granted it’s an incredibly small sample, but Heineman also ranks 16th in FanGraphs’ pitch-framing metric.
“He’s done a really good job immersing himself,” Shelton said. “He’s received the ball really well, and the offense has definitely been a bonus. He handles the bat. There are a lot of things you can do with him.”