The Pirates get a breather today after being swept in Arizona by the Diamondbacks.
Joe Block has the story of another loss in Phoenix.
Manager Derek Shelton says starter Max Kranick, who was pitching on his 24th birthday, has room to grow after an inconsistent outing.
The Pirates are off today and start a three-game series against the Giants in San Francisco tomorrow. At 60-35, the Giants have the best record in baseball. The Pirates record is almost exactly the opposite, at 36-60. Shelton says the Pirates have played some good baseball lately, but they aren’t seeing the results they want.
General Manager Ben Cherington continues to aggressively pursue his draft picks, yesterday agreeing to a $3 million signing bonus to lock up pitcher Bubba Chandler, who was also highly-rated as a switch-hitting shortstop. The Bucs went more than $2.1 million over slot value for Chandler, who was rated pre-draft as the number 20 prospect by Baseball America but lasted until the third round because he was also a four-star scholarship quarterback recruit to play college football at powerhouse Clemson.
Chandler’s signing leaves the Pirates slightly over $1.5 million left of their draft pool to sign outfielder Lonnie White Jr., a four-star football recruit of Penn State and the Bucs’ pick in the Competitive Balance B round, and fourth-round pick pitcher Owen Kellington.
The weekly injury update for the Pirates shows Steven Brault having pitched a rehab game last Saturday at Indianapolis. He gave up a run on two hits in three innings and will throw a bullpen session before his next start with Indy.
First baseman Colin Moran is swinging a bat again as he recovers from a broken hand. Infielder Erik Gonzalez is slightly ahead of his four-to-six week schedule for a return from an oblique strain, while outfielder Ka’ai Tom suffered a setback in his recovery from a lower back strain.
Altoona pitcher Roansy Contreras will play catch in the coming days but shortstop Oneil Cruz is still not ready to resume baseball activities as both deal with forearm injuries.
Highly-rated pitching prospects Miguel Yajure and Carmen Mlodzinski are throwing again. Yajure has been out with a forearm strain while Mlodzinski has a shoulder strain.
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