Prior to the start of Sunday afternoon’s game against the Chicago Cubs the Pittsburgh Pirates made a flurry of roster moves
Sunday afternoon was a busy one for general Manager Ben Cherington and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Following Saturday afternoon’s loss against the Chicago Cubs it appeared that first baseman Colin Moran would land on the injured list and that did indeed happen.
Moran has been placed on the 10-day injured list. In his place, outfielder Troy Stokes Jr. was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. In order to make room for Stokes on the 40-man roster third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes was transferred to the 60-day IL. The Pittsburgh Pirates have said this is not due to a setback or anything of the sort for Hayes and that he remains on the same timeline to return from his wrist injury.
The Pittsburgh Pirates also claimed outfielder Ben Gamel off waivers from the Cleveland Indians on Sunday afternoon. Gamel was 1-for-14 with 3 walks with the Tribe this season before he was designated for assignment.
To make room for Gamel on the 40-man roster reliever Michael Feliz was designated for assignment. Feliz being DFA’d comes as a surprise. In 7.2 innings pitched this season Feliz owned a 2.35 ERA, 3.2% walk rate, 25.8% strikeout rate and he did not allow a home run. The odds of Feliz making it through waivers seems unlikely. To replace him on the active roster, the Pirates recalled reliever Geoff Hartleib from Triple-A Indianapolis.
The Pirates will need to make room for Gamel on the active roster before he joins the team. This could lead to Stokes Jr.’s stay with the club being short lived. Odds are either Stokes Jr. or Hunter Owen will be the odd out to make room for Gamel.
Cherington also told the media on Sunday afternoon that outfielder Gregory Polanco will re-join the team soon, which will require another roster move. On the injury front Cherington also reported that Bryan Reynolds is day-to-day. Hopefully, Reynolds will return to the lineup this week against the Reds.