Pittsburgh Pirates News: Injury Updates

As the Pittsburgh Pirates prepare to kick off their first full squad workout in Spring Training, general manager Ben Cherington gave multiple injury updates

Sunday afternoon general manager Ben Cherington met with the media to discuss all things Pittsburgh Pirates. This included injury updates on three players on the Pirates’ 40-man roster. These three players are outfielder Gregory Polanco and relievers Austin Davis and José Soriano.

Polanco was playing in winter ball in the Dominican Republic in an effort to make up for at-bats lost the past two seasons. However, while playing in the DR Polanco suffered a broken wrist. Thankfully, it appears this will not lead to any long-term issues.

Cherington told the media that Polanco will be a full go in camp this spring. Look for Polanco to be ready for Opening Day and to be the starter in right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates when Opening Day rolls around.

Cherington told the media that Davis experienced left elbow soreness earlier in the offseason. Due to this, Davis will not be ready to pitch when Spring Training games start. This will likely reduce the odds of Davis cracking the team’s Opening Day roster.

At one point it appeared Davis could have an Opening Day role with the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, with the combination of this injury news and the signing of Chasen Shreve, Davis will now start the 2021 season behind the eight ball and, as a result, likely at Triple-A Indianpolis.

As for Soriano, the Pirates selected him with the first overall pick in December’s Rule 5 Draft. Due to Tommy John surgery, Soriano could miss all of the 2021 season. Despite this, all signs point toward Soriano having a big future in the Pirate bullpen.

When the Pittsburgh Pirates signed Tyler Anderson last week Soriano was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Cherington told reporters that Soriano is “on track” with his recovery from Tommy John surgery. This is great to hear due to Soriano’s sky high potentail as a MLB reliever.