Pirates designate former Yankees outfielder for assignment

Plus, Joey Bart is back!

Pittsburgh Pirates v Texas Rangers
Pittsburgh Pirates v Texas Rangers / Sam Hodde/GettyImages

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Friday that they have designated outfielder Billy McKinney for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to catcher Joey Bart, who has been reinstated from the injured list ahead of Pittsburgh's Friday night contest against the Washington Nationals.

The Pirates acquired McKinney in a trade with the New York Yankees this past winter in exchange for international bonus pool space. He spent the majority of the season with Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis, where he missed some time due to injury, but posted a solid .295/.396/.450 batting line in 154 plate appearances when healthy. Pittsburgh selected McKinney to the 40-man roster late last month, and he has slashed .200/.286/.240 in 10 games for the Pirates.

A former first-round pick by the Oakland A's in 2013, McKinney has gotten looks with seven different Major League organizations but hasn't managed to stick with any of them long term. He has racked up 943 plate appearances in 321 MLB games over seven seasons, batting .209/.284/.386 during that time.

Pirates reinstate Joey Bart from injured list ahead of Friday's game vs. Nationals

The Pirates designated McKinney for assignment in a corresponding move after activating Bart from the 10-day injured list ahead of Friday's game against the Nationals.

Bart landed on the IL with a left hamstring strain on Aug. 26 after he suffered the injury during the previous day's game against the Cincinnati Reds while attempting to beat out an RBI groundout. He is making the earliest return possible, which hopefully indicates a relatively mild injury.

Bart's reinstatement comes after Tuesday's report that he was running the bases ahead of the Pirates' game against the Chicago Cubs, which was the first indication that he had done any sort of running since his injury. He had also been catching bullpen sessions during his time on the IL.

Bart has had a breakout season at the plate, slashing .272/.347/.497 with 12 home runs in 63 games for the Pirates, who will undoubtedly be thrilled to have his bat back in the lineup during the final stretch of the season.

More Pirates content from Rum Bunter

manual