Pittsburgh Pirates Activate Two Players Off the Injured List

Ahead of the start of their two-game series against the New York Yankees the Pittsburgh Pirates have reinstated two players off the injured list

Prior to the start of their two-game series against the New York Yankees on Tuesday the Pittsburgh Pirates activated a pair of players off the injured list. These two players were outfielder Ben Gamel and first baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo.

Prior to getting injured Gamel was putting together a strong season for the Pirates. In 160 plate appearances he owned a 111 wRC+. 108 OPS+, and a 12.5% walk rate. He was also playing his traditional strong defense in the outfield.

As for Tsutsugo, he struggled mightily prior to getting injured. While he had a healthy 13.3% walk rate, he posted just a 58 wRC+ and an OPS+ of 54 in 135 PAs. Tsutsugo did state, through his interpreter, that his back had been bothering him since the home opener and progressively got worse as time went on.

It is a real possibility this was the main reason that Tsutsugo had struggled early in the season. His strong results on his rehab assignment (.440/.556/.760 slash line, 232 wRC+) would also seem to suggest that him being healthy could not lead to him finding results at the plate again.

These will not be the only roster moves made by the Pirates this week. Reliever Dillon Peters and infielder Kevin Newman should both rejoin the club in the coming days. They may soon face a decision on rehabbing outfielder Jake Marisnick as well.

To make room for Gamel and Tsutsugo on the roster utility players Hoy Park and Tucupita Marcano were optioned to the minors. Both Park and Marcano had struggled with the Pittsburgh Pirates this season, although Marcano showed a lot of promise defensively as a second baseman while also hitting the ball hard. Marcano should return post-trade deadline after veterans are traded.

In addition to activating Gamel and Tsutsugo, the Pirates also placed catcher Tyler Heineman on paternity leave. Jason Delay has been promoted from the taxi squad to take Heineman’s place on the active roster.