ALTOONA, PA – The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Friday afternoon that right-handed pitcher Frank Duncan has been sent back to the Altoona Curve from Indianapolis, and right-handed pitcher David Whitehead had been assigned to the GCL Pirates. The latter move will only be one made on paper, as Whitehead will still get the start on Monday night for the Curve after Duncan starts on Sunday.
For Whitehead to be added back to the Curve’s roster, right-handed pitcher Clay Holmes will skip a start and get added to the 7-day disabled list. The move has not been made official yet; however, the plan is for Holmes to skip a start the next time through the rotation. Holmes only threw 36.1 innings last season after missing all of 2014 because of Tommy John surgery. He has already pitched 57.2 innings this season, and he currently has a 4.99 ERA with a 1.47 WHIP.
“He’s okay, but he just needs a blow,” Curve manager Joey Cora said. “He hasn’t pitched in three years basically, and he needed a break. When he is back, hopefully he’ll be ready to finish the season.”
Pitching Coach Justin Meccage said that they are simply watching and monitoring his innings after not pitching much in the last couple of years, and the plan is that it will just be a skipped start similar to what Jameson Taillon just did for Indianapolis. The team also anticipates a couple of other starters to skip starts in the next couple of weeks to give them a breather in the heart of the season.
The Pirates are doing the same thing in West Virginia with their younger starters, as Tim Williams reported yesterday.
Jason Creasy Receives PRP Injection
On the note of starting pitchers, right-handed pitcher Jason Creasy had a PRP injection in his elbow last week and was shut down from throwing for four weeks. The hope is for him to get back into a throwing program three weeks from now, and he will most likely throw out of the bullpen after he returns because of the amount of time it would take to get him stretched back out.
