MIAMI – Gregory Polanco was scratched from tonight’s lineup with left foot discomfort, after fouling a ball off his foot in his final at-bat last night. He is at the doctor this afternoon, and the Pirates don’t have the full extent of that discomfort.
“He checked out fine after getting hit last night,” Pirates’ Head Athletic Trainer Todd Tomczyk said. “It’s something that you wait and see. It’s a fluid situation. He came in with some increased discomfort, so we’re making sure we take the necessary steps to ensure his short- and long-term health.”
Clint Hurdle said today that they didn’t want to push Polanco, and wanted to get him checked out. Sean Rodriguez will replace him in the lineup. Here is tonight’s adjusted lineup against the Marlins, with Polanco out.
Here are the rest of the injury updates this week from Tomczyk:
**Ryan Vogelsong is scheduled to be examined by Dr. Randall Beatty at AGH this afternoon in Pittsburgh, to see the extent of his facial injuries after getting hit in the eye with a pitch two weeks ago. Vogelsong hasn’t been able to do any physical activities since the injury, waiting for his eventual surgery.
“He’s a pretty fast healer,” Tomczyk said. “When the decision is made to fix the fractures, there is a chance that swelling is going to increase, just because of any type of soft tissue in surgery. It may get a little worse before it gets better long-term.”
**Arquimedes Caminero, out with a left quad strain, is throwing off the mound. The initial reports have been encouraging, according to Tomczyk, and the Pirates could start Caminero on a rehab assignment in the near future.
**Elias Diaz has started throwing and playing catch on flat ground for the first time since elbow surgery to remove bone chips. He’s also hitting, in the early stages of all of his rehab.
“It’s only been a couple of days,” Tomczyk said of the response to the throwing. “The initial reports are positive. So we’ll take it day by day and build him up to an appropriate level where he can compete again.”
**Kevin Newman is being seen in Pittsburgh today and tomorrow for his orbital injuries after getting hit in the eye with a pitch last week.
**Steven Brault is throwing off flat ground in Indianapolis, recovering from a hamstring strain. Brault’s timeline would have him back anywhere from the middle of June until the middle of July. When I was in Indianapolis two weeks ago, he said the recovery was going well, and he’s hoping to be back closer to the early side of that timeline.
