A hush fell over PNC Park on Thursday.
Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jung-Ho Kang dropped head first to the dirt near second base after Chicago Cub Chris Coghlan slid into second base, swept his outstretched legs under Kang’s, who was on the bag with the ball in hand about to throw to first to complete a double play, and his right knee collided into Kang’s left knee.
It was not hard to see Kang was injured, as he was rolling side-to-side on the ground while clutching his left knee with his left hand. Eventually tended to by assistant trainer Ben Potenziano, Kang rolled on his back and covered his face in pain before finally being helped to his feet. Arms wrapped around Potenziano and Korean translator H.K. Kim on either side of him, Kang gingerly put weight on the knee as the trio slowly walked to the dugout.
Jordy Mercer grabbed a piece of gum from a bucket of Dubble Bubble on top of the bench in the dugout and his glove then ran up the stairs to the field, passed Kang as he was helped to the dugout and took over at shortstop.
A torn MCL and broken leg is the diagnosis for Kang.
Mercer better have plenty of gum ready, because he is now entrenched as the team’s starting shortstop for the rest of the 2015 season, and possibly the first month or two of the 2016 season. He has big shoes to fill.
Kang has emerged as one of the most valuable players on the Pirates this season, and exceeded every expectation placed on him when he was signed out of the Korean Baseball Organization last winter.
In fact, he has been the most valuable player on the Pirates since the All-Star Break according to Fangraphs. His 2.4 wins above replacement index since the Midsummer Classic is the highest on the Pirates, and eighth in the National League.
A bona fide NL Rookie of the Year candidate, Kang was the glue that held the left side of the Pirates’ infield together when it almost ripped apart during the summer. When Josh Harrison went down, Kang started at third base; when Mercer went down, he went to shortstop. His .287 average, 15 home runs and 58 RBI made him one of the team’s most productive hitters, and will now need replaced.
Mercer has never been a big threat on offense since becoming a starter for the Pirates in 2013, and is in the midst of a September swoon – a .182 average and .487 OPS for the month. His biggest asset is his defense, which is arguably better than Kang’s.
But the player that needs to rise to the occasion in the wake of Kang’s absence is Josh Harrison.
Harrison had a storybook 2014 season when he hit .315 with a .837 OPS, made a couple of highlight real rundown escapes and was named to his first All-Star team. That season for Harrison was similar to Kang this season, in that he stepped up when other players got injured. Now is a great time for the Pirates to see Harrison to do that again, and to live up to the 4-year contract worth up to $50 million he signed before the season started.
It has not been a rough year offensively for Harrison by any stretch, but his numbers are down across the board compared to last year. His average and slugging are both down, and he is only hitting .255 with two extra base hits and three RBI in September.
Harrison did, however, spend most of July and the first three weeks of August on the disabled list, so it has been harder for him to make an impact. He is also a high energy player that wears his emotions on his sleeve when he takes the field, and Harrison tends to step up when needed.
The Pirates still have plenty of depth across the infield, with Aramis Ramirez, Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez and Mercer spread across the diamond, so Harrison will likely still be in his super-utility role of playing at almost every position in the field.
And no matter where Harrison plays, he will need to make an impact for the Pirates now that Kang is out for the year, or else PNC Park may not even turn the lights on during the Wild Card game next month.
Photo credit: USA Today
