PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Prior to the game on Friday, the Pirates recalled right-handed reliever Bryan Morris from Triple-A Indianapolis and designated righty Chris Leroux for assignment.
“We’ve got another move that could be pending here sooner than later,” Manager Clint Hurdle said. “This move, to have the flexibility, can help impart the next move, and there very well could be a third move. I don’t know the length. Bryan sat down in that chair, and we told him that it could be temporary, it could be a while, but come in here and compete and have some fun with it.”
For the Pirates, the move was performance based. Leroux hasn’t quite been the same pitcher since he strained his right pectoral muscle on the final day of spring training last year. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list and rehabbed his way back in 2012, starting some in Triple-A, and then was recalled in September where he posted a 5.56 ERA over 11.1 frames.
“Chris struggled at the end [of spring training] and struggled the first two times out,” Hurdle said. “Everybody’s got to pitch. Everybody’s got to put something into the basket everyday. We didn’t feel that he was in a good enough place to do that right now. We were almost pitching one short.”
Leroux posted a 9.72 ERA over 8.1 frames during spring training, striking out eight, but giving up two home runs. The 28-year-old represented Canada in the World Baseball Classic in March, tossing three innings and allowing one unearned run with a walk and four strikeouts. Hurdle said he doesn’t believe pitching in the WBC impacted his performance.
“It kind of looks that way, but I don’t think it was,” Hurdle said. “He went there. He pitched the three innings the one time. He wasn’t gone that long. Really we saw Chris best in 2011 the last 8-10 weeks of the season. His spring was okay last spring. He was competitive. He got hurt the last day and came back. We haven’t seen the same since the injury last year right before opening day. You’ve seen guys get knocked down and come back. He’s gotten knocked down again, and this will be his second. He still believes in his abilities and that’s a plus.”
Since the designation was the second from Pittsburgh (also last July), if Leroux clears waivers he has the choice of whether to take an assignment at Triple-A Indy, or chose to become a free agent. The Pirates will look to trade the right-hander over the 10 day period if they can find a team interested.
“I think we’ll look for an opportunity to move him first,” Hurdle said. “If he clears, he has the right of refusal since this is his second designation. That’s his choice, he’s earned that opportunity. It doesn’t matter what I want. If we get to that point, he’ll make the decision and we’ll go from there.”
Leroux broke camp out of spring training for the first time in his professional career this season. He made two appearances out of the bullpen with Pittsburgh and posted a 6.75 ERA. Leroux’s last outing came on Wednesday in Arizona when he allowed one run on two hits, four walks and two strikeouts over 2.2 frames.
Morris started the season in Triple-A where he didn’t allow a run over three innings (two appearances) with no walks and two whiffs. Morris didn’t allow a hit over his three frames of work and notched two saves in the process. After battling for a spot in the bullpen during spring, the right-hander was cut in late March.
“We like Bryan,” Hurdle said. “We like what he was able to do in spring training. There were some things he needed to get tightened up. Whether he’s got them completely tightened up, we wanted to bring up a player with an option for flexibility.”
The Pirates will also have to make a decision regarding a starter for Sunday. Left-hander Wandy Rodriguez is currently sidelined with a left hamstring strain and was scheduled to work out and throw today to test out his progress. There hasn’t been an update yet from the Pirates. If Rodriguez is unable to go, the Pirates could look to a long reliever for a spot start, or recall a starter from Triple-A Indianapolis. Hurdle wouldn’t give any indication on which way they were leaning or anyone they were looking at if needed.
Marte continues to spark a top of the lineup
Starling Marte has provided the Pirates with a spark at the top of the lineup so far this young season. The rookie entered game action hitting for a team-best .333 average and has five hits in his last eight at-bats in the first inning of a ballgame. That mark leads all Major League players (.625 average). In his last five games, Marte has collected multi-hits, and of the nine games this season, the outfielder has reached safely in all but one.
Marte was promoted to the Majors last season on July 26 last season and finished with a .257 average. The biggest key for Marte will be with his plate discipline.
“We encourage all our guys to be ready to hit when they get into the box, so when they get pitches to hit, he’s one of the guys that are striking balls that are in the strike zone right now that are elevated,” Hurdle said. “We’ve got some guys that have been taking the same amount of swings in the same situations that are fouling balls off. He’s sparked it. He’s clicked it…He has done a better job of not chasing low, not chasing wide. He’s made them throw strikes and he’s been very good when they’ve been within the strikezone.”
Still bad blood between the Pirates and the Reds?
The Pirates and Reds open up a three game set on Friday against their division rival Cincinnati Reds. There were several intense games between the two clubs during the 2012 season: Andrew McCutchen was plunked by a pitch by closer Aroldis Chapman, and the Jared Hughes vs. Brandon Phillips “racial slur” argument.
Prior to the game on Friday, McCutchen said that’s he’s moved past his incident. But his teammate Neil Walker said that the “dislike is still there.”
“I’m over it,” McCutchen said. “I’d take him out to dinner right now if I had to. I don’t really know him. I’m over that point. That’s over and done with. At the time when he hit me last year, I thought it was a little intentional but after watching video and seeing everything, he kind of gave a head nod. ‘I screwed up.’ I’m sure the pitch got away from him. I’m sure he was amped up. He wanted to throw the ball. He probably threw it a little harder than normal and he let it get away from me, and it hit me. At first I was waiting for him to acknowledge me when I looked at him. He acknowledged when I reached down and took off my shin guard. That’s when he acknowledged. ‘That’s a bad pitch’, basically.”
“They’re a very good team,” Hurdle said. “We’ve played very competitively against them for two years. I think there’s a desire for us to go out and do real good. They are a division rival. Right now, you’re going to have to go through them to get where you want to get. I think there might be some [emotions] still hanging around.”
McCutchen: Who knows where’d I’d be if it wasn’t for Jackie Robinson
The movie “42”, which is based on the story of Jackie Robinson’s life, is out in theatres today. With Jackie Robinson day a few days away (April 15), fans are able to learn more about how he changed the game of baseball beforehand. McCutchen said he already saw the movie in the offseason with a part owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and recommends everyone to go out and see it.
“It was an amazing movie,” McCutchen said. “You hear a lot about it and you read a lot about it, but the picture really doesn’t get painted into your head until you see some of the stuff that he went through. It was an eye opener for me even though i knew it, even though I’ve read it. It was definitely one of those things where you just need to go see it to just kind of feel what he went through.”
“Jackie Robinson means a lot –not to just African Americans or any race– but he means a lot to just the world. It was the beginning of things for a lot of different people, a lot of different cultures. Things started to change from that. It’s definitely one of those things where you take a lot of pride putting that jersey on, just what he went through. If it wasn’t for him, it was’t for the Brooklyn Dodgers owner for stepping up and being that guy to change things around, there’s no telling where I would be. It was definitely a good movie to watch.”
Photo credit: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
