Pittsburgh Pirates Rumor Mill – Kang, prospects, & more

Welcome to the first weekly Pittsburgh Pirates Rumor Mill, where we update you on all of the latest Pirates trades, signings, rumors, injury news, promotions, demotions, and the like from the past week.

Welcome all to the first edition of the Pittsburgh Pirates Rumor Mill, a weekly post where we take a look at all of the latest rumors surrounding the Pirates team. Ideally we’ll try to give you some trade rumors that the Pirates may be involved in, but we’ll incorporate a lot more into these, including: free agent signings, trades, rumors, promotions and demotions, injury news, and more. As the trade deadline approaches, we’ll have a lot more juicy rumors for you.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at the latest injury news for the Pirates.

Jung Ho Kang is the player we’re all waiting on pins and needles for when he eventually returns. As the off-season progressed, reports were optimistic that Kang would be ready for Opening Day. But as spring training got underway, his timetable was pushed back to the end of April. Now his return is murky at best. The latest reports say he still isn’t making turns:

https://twitter.com/BiertempfelTrib/status/717814457481764868

I don’t know what the rehab process is like for a knee injury. I do know that his recovery was set to take many months, and that if he is having trouble rounding bases or if he is afraid or not ready to round bases at this stage in his rehab, that doesn’t bode well. But I’m no expert. Maybe he’s just hesitant or his doctors don’t want him to round bases yet and he’ll be fine when it’s time to do that. I hope that’s the case. Kang’s addition to the lineup will make the team that much stronger offensively.

Jared Hughes also started the year on the disabled list, and he’s probably closer to returning than Kang is. Adam Berry of MLB.com gave the latest update on Hughes and others a couple days ago. Here’s the latest on Hughes, from MLB.com:

“Hughes, out with a left lat strain, threw off the slope of the mound for the first time on Wednesday, head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk said, and felt good. The next step is for the right-handed reliever to throw off the mound.”

Hughes will go through the usual rehab steps for a pitcher, likely ramping up his pitch totals off the mound every day, but I’m not sure if he’ll need a stint in the minors before returning to the majors. It’s a good sign that he says he feels good.

Berry also gave an update on Elias Diaz:

“Diaz, ticketed to catch for Triple-A Indianapolis but on the Major League disabled list with right elbow discomfort, is in the advanced stages of his strength and rehabilitation exercises, Tomczyk said.

Diaz, the Pirates’ No. 8 prospect, is not yet throwing from behind the plate.”

Advanced stages is a good sign. Diaz would likely be the first catcher called up if either Francisco Cervelli or Chris Stewart went down to injury. It’s a good idea to get him going at Triple-A as soon as possible, and his future with the Pirates major league club is intriguing.

Luckily the team doesn’t have any more injuries to start the season.

On April 6th, the Rays claimed Jake Goebbert off waivers from the Pirates. Goebbert was given as outside shot at making the big league club at the start of the spring, but quality play from Cole Figueroa and a better corner outfield/infield option in Jason Rogers were too big of obstacles for Goebbert to overcome. Gobbert is a career minor leaguer with a .218/.313/.317 career major league line in just 101 at-bats, all of which came in 2014. He’s not a huge loss for the Pirates.

We all have probably beaten the Gregory Polanco extension to a pulp this week, but if you missed our analysis of it, make sure to check that out here.

So the Pirates won’t likely make any major changes to the major league club until the middle of the season. At that time, we could see Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon both come up to the majors. Who would they replace? Ryan Vogelsong is likely the first pitcher to go. After that, it comes down to Jeff Locke and Jon Niese. Locke may seem like an easy choice, but if Locke does well in the first half of the season, and Niese does poorly, don’t be surprised if Niese is traded. Neither 2017 or 2018 is guaranteed in his contract as both are club options with a cheap $500,000 buyout.

The weak spots on the Pirates team seem to be the back-end of the bullpen in Kyle Lobstein and Cory Luebke, while Figueroa and Mike Morse might be the weakest spots on the bench. If the trade deadline were tomorrow, those areas would likely be addressed.

Who are the players in Triple-A that could reach the majors this year? Trey Haley, Guido Knudson, Rob Scahill, A.J. Schugel, and Trevor Williams seem like the best pitching options to be called up. Williams seems like the best options as a spot starter, while Scahill might be the best option as a reliever. Haley is also intriguing, but he’s more of a project at the moment. Alen Hanson, Jason Rogers, and Gift Ngoepe seem like the best infield options out of Triple-A, and all are good options. Willy Garcia and Mel Rojas Jr. are the best outfield options, but neither has any major league experience to date.

As the season moves forward, trade rumors will begin to circulate. But in the meantime, keep checking out our weekly Pittsburgh Pirates Rumor Mill every Friday at noon!

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