The Pittsburgh Pirates optioned outfielder Alex Presley to Triple-A Indianapolis prior to the game on Wednesday and recalled righty reliever Evan Meek.
Presley, 26, posted a .220/.246/.551 line over 118 at-bats (34 games) with Pittsburgh this season. The outfielder broke camp with the big league club for the first time in his professional career. After starting the season off hot — .309 average over his first 19 games, Presley has been in a slump. The 26-year-old has been making tweaks at the plate over the past several weeks in order to gain last season’s swing. Presley has gone just 3-for-42 over his last 15 games.
“Alex has got to get back to what has allowed him to be successful a year ago,” General Manager Neal Huntington said on Sunday. “And that was look to drive the pitches that are in his hitting area, command the strike zone and not expand the strike zone. When he does that, he’s a dangerous offensive player. When he gets inside his dome and tries to do too much or just becomes passive, and looks to slap, he’s not the same hitter that he was when he was successful a year ago.”
Meek was optioned on April 30 after posting a 5.59 ERA over nine appearances to start the season in Pittsburgh. He made four scoreless relief appearances while with Triple-A. Meek allowed just two hits over 6.0 innings with two walks and five strikeouts.
