Pirates News: Scary Hunter Stratton injury, Henry Davis roster move, Brady Feigl

The Pittsburgh Pirates' bullpen took a brutal hit Saturday when an attempt to chase down a ball behind home plate abruptly ended Hunter Stratton's season.

The right-handed reliever, who had entered Saturday's game against the Cincinnati Reds in relief of Jake Woodford in the top of the fourth inning, threw a wild pitch that allowed Jonathan India to score. Pirates catcher Joey Bart retrieved the ball and tried to flip it to Stratton, who was covering home plate, but the ball bounced off Stratton's glove. Stratton's attempt to recover the ball ended in an awkward collision with the backstop stone wall, which left him on the ground for several minutes, writhing in pain and clutching his left leg.

Two runs scored on the play in what would be a 10-2 Pirates loss to the Reds. Stratton was carted off the field at PNC Park, and the team announced after the game that he had suffered a patella tendon rupture in his left knee. The Pirates proceeded to place Stratton on the 60-day Injured List, immediately ending his season.

Stratton's fluke injury left a hole in the Pirates' bullpen, which they quickly filled by selecting the contract of left-hander Brady Feigl from Triple-A Indianapolis. Feigl will take Stratton's spot on the 26-man and the 40-man roster, setting him up to make his MLB debut at age 33. A career minor leaguer who spent the last two seasons in the Independent Atlantic League before signing with Pittsburgh as a free agent this past winter, Feigl went 7-2 with a 3.83 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 33 games with Indianapolis this season. He has had a particularly strong August, logging a 0.82 ERA with 14 strikeouts, 0.82 WHIP and .167 batting average against (6-for-36) in seven outings.

Pirates recall Henry Davis from Triple-A Indianapolis as Joey Bart heads to IL

Less than 24 hours after Stratton went down, the injury bug took out the other half of the Pirates' battery, as Bart left Sunday's game early due to left hamstring discomfort. The team later placed Bart on the 10-day IL with a hamstring strain and recalled former No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis from Triple-A Indianapolis to replace Bart on the active roster, as reported by Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

While Bart is out, Davis will get another chance to prove himself against major league competition after his most recent call-up in June saw him go 2-for-17 over six games before being optioned back to Triple-A. He is currently batting .314 with six home runs, seven stolen bases, and an .881 OPS over 34 games with Indianapolis since coming off the IL with a concussion.

The Pirates also have veteran catcher Yasmani Grandal, who has been decent at the plate in the second half. Still, now that they have effectively played themselves out of the National League Wild Card race, it makes the most sense for them to give Davis the bulk of the playing time until Bart's return.

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