Pittsburgh Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington commented on the status of a key prospect, and gave hints as to the team’s rotation in the second half.
Pittsburgh Pirates GM Neal Huntington had his weekly appearance on the team’s flagship station today, his last appearance before the All-Star break.
Though Huntington was unsurprisingly tight-lipped on several subjects, he let some interesting comments loose.
On Bell’s immediate future
With Josh Bell, Huntington is aware that circumstances may arise that would conspire to keep him in the majors.
When asked by host Greg Brown if Bell returning to the outfield would be a valid option to keep his bat at the major league level, Huntington had this to say:
“That’s something we are working through internally. As we look at the big picture, we’ve done strong work, and Josh continues to do that work, at getting him ready at first base. The outfield is easier for him than first base. But first is the most obvious spot for him to come to the majors, and it’s also where he needed the most work.” Huntington said.
“Now, if Gregory Polanco is unable to respond after his rest, and needs a DL stint, we might begin the conversation about Bell in the outfield. We don’t want Josh to come up and get a pinch hit every three days. That doesn’t help anyone.”
On Polanco’s health
“It’s still too early to tell,” Huntington began, while addressing Polanco’s health. “We are thinking that he will respond well to six fully down days, but if not, we may need to get open minded.
With Polanco being out of the lineup recently, the team will be able to backdate a possible DL stint to get the third-year player’s bat back into the lineup as soon as possible.
On Vogelsong
Ryan Vogelsong will make a rehab appearnce with the Double-A Altoona Curve today, and Huntington tipped the team’s plans for him going forward.
“We are going to use this extra time to stretch him out…whether that be five [innings] and 80 [pitches], or six and 85…we are goign to have him ready so that if there is a need, or if we feel he is better than the five we have, he can jump right in. Ryan wants to help this team as a starter and feels that he can do so, but we are just as comfortable wit him coming out of the bullpen as well.”
On the timetable for a resolution in Kang investigation
When asked about a potential timetable for the sexual assault investigation focused on Jung Ho Kang, Huntington offered nothing new but reiterated the Pittsburgh Pirates’ support of the process.
“Unfortunately there is no time table that we are aware of. We understand the seriousness of the situation. We are working with Major League Baseball and, when needed, the appropriate authorities. We’ll see how this process plays out, but there is not a timeframe that we are aware of.”
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
