After falling 9-3 in extra innings of game one of their three game weekend set against the St Louis Cardinals on Friday night, the Pittsburgh Pirates suffered an even bigger loss on Saturday.
Catcher Francisco Cervelli was placed on the 15-day disabled list today following surgery to repair a broken hamate bone in his left hand. Recovery time for the Pirates Catcher is expected to be four to six weeks.
In a corresponding move, the Pirates acquired Erik Kratz from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for cash considerations and designated pitcher Trey Haley for assignment.
The #Pirates have also acquired C Erik Kratz from the #Angels in exchange for cash considerations & designate RHP Trey Haley for assignment.
— #VotePirates (@Pirates) June 11, 2016
The 35-year old Kratz, who played for the Pirates in 2010, is hitting .069 in 29 at-bats through 14 games this season with the Houston Astros. He will be tasked with joining Chris Stewart and holding down the catching duties until Cervelli returns. Offensively, Kratz and Stewart, who is hitting .212 in 66 at-bats this season, aren’t exactly ideal options, but they should be sufficient replacements when it comes to working with the Pirates pitchers.
Kratz, who will be active for the Pirates tonight, is now playing for his fourth team of the 2016 season after signing with the San Diego Padres at the beginning of the season. Kratz was then traded to the Houston Astros in late March and was released on May 22. Kratz was signed by the Angels on May 27 and now returns to the Pirates.
Before his injury, Cervelli was on the verge of possibly heading to his first all star game and was hitting at a .257/.373/.667 clip with 21 RBI’s in 49 games. Cervelli also ranks fifth amongst National League catchers in OPS (.667) and first in walks (30).
Like Cervelli, pitcher Gerrit Cole also left Friday night’s contest with an injury. The Pirates ace left the game in the third inning with left triceps tightness; however, he has not been placed on the disabled list.
Before leaving last night’s game, Cole pitched two innings while giving up two hits, walking one and striking out three. This season, Cole is 5-4 with a 2.77 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 12 starts.
The Pirates return to action tonight in game two against the Cardinals at PNC Park with first pitch set for 7:15 pm.
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