Pittsburgh Pirates: A Quick Glance at Jake Elmore

The Pittsburgh Pirates recently promoted a utility player from their Triple-A affiliate.  Here is some information about him.

As the season goes on, one thing has remained constant: the Pittsburgh Pirates have been bitten by the injury bug.  The team has seen many of their key players head to the Injury List already this season.  Starters like Corey Dickerson, Erik Gonzalez, Starling Marte, and a key bench bat in Lonnie Chisenhall have all spent time off the field.  This is not to mention the number of pitchers who have also been placed on the Injury List as well.

Well, the plague of injuries continued yesterday as the Pittsburgh Pirates placed third baseman Jung Ho Kang on the Injury List.  Apparently, Kang has been battling a progressing tightness in his left side and finally was placed on the Injury List with a “strained left-side.”  Whether this is something that has effected Kang or the Bucs using it as a way to get him some side work without eating up a roster spot, Kang needed some time off.

With that being said, the Pittsburgh Pirates used former first-round pick Kevin Newman at third base last night against a left-handed starter.  Meanwhile, it should be assumed that Colin Moran will still see the bulk of the starts at the hot corner.  However, the team did promote a utility infielder by the name of Jake Elmore to take Kang’s spot on the roster.

Elmore was brought in to the organization at the beginning of the season.  He was not on the 40 man roster, so the team shifted staff ace Jameson Taillon to the 60-day Injury List.  The Bucs acquired Elmore from the Chicago White Sox at the end of March.  He has spent parts of five seasons in the major leagues all with different teams, last appearing in the Majors back in 2016.

Still, the now 31-year-old had a strong start to his season at Triple-A Indianapolis.  The righty had a batting average of .380 along with a .444 OBP and a .546 slugging.  This was in a decent sample size too, playing in 31 games for the Indians.  He is definitely seeing the ball well right now and picked up his first hit in last night’s game against the Diamondbacks.

Now, these numbers are obviously really robust, but his career average in the minors is a solid .286, with an impressive .384 OBP.  At the very least, Elmore should be able to give the team some decent at-bats and flexibility with him being able to play anywhere in the infield and corner outfield.

While many fans would have loved to see Ke’Bryan Hayes up, Elmore made more sense.  Hayes has got off to an up and down start and needs to continue to play every day.  With Colin Moran in the fold, and Kevin Newman able to play third, Elmore is better suited to be on the roster right now.