Pittsburgh Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington met with reporters prior to Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals and as always discussed a variety of topics.
The question on everyone’s mind was an update on Nick Kingham’s elbow injury. Outside of the identity of the injury’s location and that he was placed on the disabled list, not much was known.
“As we know over the years we’re going to wait until we get the second opinion to talk about what might be going on,” Huntington said. “It probably won’t happen until later this week or early into next week the doctor he wants to go through is tied up. We’re working to see if we can get him in as quickly as possible.”
Tyler Glasnow’s injury has been identified as a sprained right ankle. He remains day to day.
Josh Harrison’s slow start has also come into question. Harrison had two days off this week in addition to the off day Monday. Harrison had one hit in his past 21 at-bats heading into Sunday’s game. Huntington cited him as the main guy who is trying to do too much.
“You typically see guys go one of three ways when they get a contract,” said Huntington. “One they relax and you see the true player because they have nothing to worry about financially they’re set for life. Two, you see a player that relaxes and doesn’t care as much because he’s set for life and takes a deep breath and doesn’t give you the same energy and effort. The third case which we believe is the case for Josh is trying to justify the contract and show those that doubted him. We just need Josh to take a deep breath and go be the player he’s capable of.”
Huntington also talked about several minor league players.
Jose Tabata is a player who was talked about during Spring Training. He changed his swing to resemble that of Marlon Byrd’s. Currently he is batting .324 with Triple-A Indianapolis.
“He has played really well for them and as important has played hard,” Huntington said. “He’s running the bases well again and is getting after it. While we hope his return to the big leagues is with us, he’s a guy that may need to get somebody else’s attention and have somebody get him to get back into the big leagues. If that happens we’ll be happy for him but if it happens here that’s a great thing as well.”
Adrian Sampson is off to a good start with the Pirates despite his 2-3 record. He has a 2.80 ERA and was mentioned during Spring Training by Huntington as a player that may be ready soon for a call-up. When he answered a question on pitching depth following the Kingham injury, Charlie Morton’s name was first and Sampson’s came right after. Huntington said that he is continuing to mature.
Huntington also is pleased with the prospect of Double-A Prospect Angel Sanchez who was a Pirates acquisition during the trade deadline. Sanchez has a 2-1 record with Altoona and a 1.91 ERA in 33 innings pitched. Huntington expressed his liking to the fastball and secondary pitches.
Jameson Taillon is working through Tommy John surgery slowly and is closer to game action “sooner rather than later”.
Notebook: The Pirates announced in a press release today announced that it acquired Jayson Aquino from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations. Acquino has been optioned to Single-A Bradenton. Aquino was designated for assignment May 5 by the Blue Jays and went 2-2 with a 2.81 ERA in Single-A Dunedin. Aquino, 22, was first signed by Colorado as a non-drafted free agent on Jul. 2, 2009. He was the Rockies ninth-best prospect prior to the 2013 season as rated by Baseball America.
Photo courtesy: Jeff Curry/USA TODAY Sports
