Pittsburgh Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington talked injuries, Andrew McCutchen’s slow start & more on his weekly radio show
Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington makes a weekly radio hit on the team’s flagship radio station 93.7 The Fan. Each Sunday, Pirates Breakdown will bring you a recapping of Huntington’s show, picking out the best tidbits from the show, hosted by Greg Brown. Let’s get started.
All quotes are direct from Neal Huntington as told to Greg Brown.
On Jameson Taillon‘s groin issues and subsequent placement on the 10-day DL
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Jameson made us aware he’d been having some discomfort, we put him through initial eval, became apparent he would not make start, with the 10-day it’s easy to be more aggressive than patient; as we go through continuing evaluation, that [his potential return] is something that will come to light as we continue this process.[/perfectpullquote]Why the team chose to have Trevor Williams fill in for Taillon as opposed to Steven Brault or Drew Hutchison
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Trevor earned that 6th SP spot based on last year and what he did in spring training. He had one extended outing [a four inning mop up duty appearance vs the Cubs], which makes us believe he can make that start. Steven Brault is providing us more of what we saw last year pre-hamstring injury, and now we are at a point where if we bring one of them up to bullpen, we’re chipping away at our SP depth. So Hutchison and Brault give us two starters we continue to be comfortable with in Triple-A.[/perfectpullquote]On Adam Frazier and David Freese‘s impending returns and whether or not rehab starts are necessary
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The next logical step for Adam would be a rehab; he did some base running today; I did not get the update from Todd [Pittsburgh Pirates lead trainer Todd Tomczyk], but assuming that goes well, a rehab assignment for mid-to-late this week is in the works. With David Freese, he is progressing and needs to take the next step…the base running with curves, angles…David may or may not go out on a rehab assignment as a veteran. We’ll see how he feels.[/perfectpullquote]Huntington’s thoughts on Tyler Glasnow‘s progress after his first major league win
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The 1st inning obviously a challenge for him. it has been that way in the minor leagues and now here in the majors; we have given thought to how to change up his routine; as we work through it and walk through it, as we go through his routine, we are focusing on getting him ready from pitch one. There are things that guys need to learn at this level, and he’s got some ways to go with that.[/perfectpullquote]On Andrew McCutchen‘s start to the 2017 season
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Well, we continue to see some well-struck balls that are either hit into a well-positioned defender, or finding them where they might not normally. His BABIP is low, his line drive is solid. His walk rate is the same and his strikeout rate is much better. We are just not seeing the results we want at this point.[/perfectpullquote]On how long the Pittsburgh Pirates plan to carry three catchers
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]With Francsico Cervelli’s foot continuing to bother him, and Chris Stewart a bit banged up, Clint wanted to make sure we had that depth. Catcher is a spot you don’t want to be left without. Elias Diaz is swinging the bat well, had been one of the better bats at Indianapolis. [/perfectpullquote]Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
