Polanco feels, looks good
Gregory Polanco, who played just 42 games in 2019, turns heads in PNC Park workouts.
No media is allowed inside PNC Park for Pirates summer camp, the result of the recent spike in coronavirus cases in Allegheny County.
But according to Josh Bell, one player making a significant impression is Gregory Polanco, the Pirates’ right fielder and a guy whose bat and defense — if they improve — would go a long way toward the Pirates improving in 2020.
Bell said he watched Polanco deposit a couple home runs into the Allegheny River during a morning hitting drill.
“Today was the most impressive workday that I’ve seen Polanco have since last year,” Bell said on a Zoom call with local reporters. “Homers to all fields, definitely homers in the river, and then right after that, after having not thrown for maybe 40 or 50 minutes, he went right into right field and made a few throws to third, a few throws to second, a few throws to home, and that was the best I’ve seen his arm since surgery.”
Polanco, if you remember, had his 2019 cut short after just 42 games because of recurring issues in his shoulder. The burly outfielder slashed just .242/.301/.425 and struck out 49 times in 153 atbats.
In the outfield, Polanco’s throwing was suspect, and he suffered through a down year defensively.
However, in spring training 1.0, Polanco looked every bit like a guy who was healthy and focused on achieving redemption.
In the offseason, the club’s director of sports medicine said Polanco’s throwing had improved after a series of platelet-rich plasma injections. His velocity was around 82.5 mph, although the Pirates expected that Polanco’s shoulder would still have to be managed.
As Bell said it, Polanco has experienced an uptick in throwing velocity, to the point where maybe some of those concerns might be alleviated.
Virus hits
Manager Derek Shelton said on Saturday that the Pirates did have a couple people test positive for the coronavirus. A day later, with two players’ permission, he divulged who had contracted COVID-19 — reliever Blake Cederlind and Socrates Brito.
Neither Cederlind nor Brito was expected to begin the 2020 season with the big club, although Cederlind, a hard-throwing right-hander who turned heads in spring training, probably had the better chance of the two.
“Very much appreciate it,” Shelton said of Cederlind and Brito giving permission for their results to be shared. “Very much respect the other people that we have who don’t feel that it’s necessary to talk about, but I think it is [important] for people to realize that it is real in the game.”
Because of HIPAA,
Shelton wasn’t able to say anything more about those two testing positive, nothing about whether they were symptomatic or what those symptoms might’ve been. Cederlind and Brito, per MLB’s health and safety protocols, will be quarantined, and they’ll have to produce two negative tests before they’re allowed to return to group activities.
Opening in St. Louis
The Pirates will open the 2020 season July 24 against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, a source confirmed to the Pittsburgh PostGazette. Major League Baseball is expected to announce the full 60-game slate Monday.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote on July 2 that an “unofficial” version of the schedule had the Pirates opening against the Cardinals on that date, while Dejan Kovacevic of DKPittsburghSports.com was the first Pittsburgh-area reporter with the news.
The Pirates will play 40 games against the NL Central in the shortened campaign and 20 against the AL Central.
Face of the franchise
Bell was asked about the Pirates’ identity and whether he would embrace being considered the face of the franchise
Bell praised the work general manager Ben Cherington and Shelton did in the offseason, essentially providing the Pirates with what they need to be successful, and said he welcomes the opportunity to chat with the firstyear manager about how things can improve.
“If you have something, bring it up,” Bell said. “If I’m going to be the leader, if you don’t feel comfortable talking to [Shelton], bring it to me, and I’ll bring it to the other group of quote-unquote captains that we might have.”
Perspective offered
Having no baseball for three-plus months has allowed Bell to better appreciate the Pirates getting back to work now, albeit under some unique circumstances.
Bell said “a sense of normalcy” has returned as the Pirates went through a second day of workouts at PNC Park.
“It’s a beautiful thing,” Bell said. “It’s something that’s easy to take for granted, but now that we’re back, I think we’re all excited to really put in the work and really understand that this game is very fleeting.
“We all know that every day that we put on the jersey is one step closer to us taking it off for the final time. It’s definitely eye-opening when you have quite a few days off your career where you’re not even putting on the jersey. So, we’re all excited to be back.”