CHICAGO – The Pirates have made a few roster moves prior to tonight’s game against the Cubs. They have called up Jason Rogers, Curtis Partch, and Jorge Rondon. To make room, they’ve designated Cory Luebke for assignment, optioned Rob Scahill, and placed Juan Nicasio on the restricted list.
The moves with the bullpen are pretty self-explanatory. The Pirates have had problems with their middle relievers, and middle relief has been a revolving door this season. It’s worth noting that Partch and Rondon have had the best results this year in Triple-A, although both have dealt with command issues at times. There’s a chance these moves could be permanent if they come up and do well.
As for Nicasio, Clint Hurdle said the placement on the restricted list was personal, and nothing disciplinary. The placement is strange, as there are other lists used for personal reasons, such as a list for family leave and the obvious lists for injuries. Hurdle did say that they were working with Nicasio, so it’s possible that this is a situation that isn’t covered by the normal lists. UPDATE: After reading through the details of each list, the Family Leave list and the Bereavement List are both a maximum of seven days. The restricted list is used if a player needs longer. So this could be the case with Nicasio.
From a personal standpoint, you hope everything is alright with Nicasio. From a performance view, the fact that he will miss some time and his start on Tuesday isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since he has struggled a lot lately and this season. Tyler Glasnow just started last night, so there’s no chance he’s up on Tuesday to replace Nicasio, even if the Pirates didn’t care about his recent control issues. Chad Kuhl starts Monday, but he has struggled recently, giving up 12 earned runs on 24 hits in 13 innings over his last three starts.
Wilfredo Boscan starts that day, and Hurdle said he was a candidate. I’d expect him to make the start. Until then, the Pirates will carry an extra position player in Jason Rogers.
