Francisco Cervelli left tonight’s game in Milwaukee in the 8th inning after getting hit in the right foot when trying to block a pitch. Cervelli immediately went down, and had to be helped off the field by two trainers, unable to put any weight on his foot. There has been no update on his condition, and probably won’t be anything until tomorrow. However, the fact that he couldn’t even walk off the field isn’t a good sign.
The one silver lining here is that Elias Diaz is back and healthy, so if Cervelli does need to go on the disabled list, Diaz can return and take over. The Pirates are also getting close to a Chris Stewart rehab stint, as he was expected to catch before a game this weekend, and start a rehab assignment next week if all went well.
Cervelli has struggled for most of this season, and this would be the second injury he has dealt with, after missing a month with a broken hamate bone. From the start of May until his first injury, he had a .528 OPS. He only returned for six games prior to tonight, and had a .654 OPS in that stretch, while going 0-for-3 tonight. His defense is the bigger value, but the Pirates shouldn’t see a huge downgrade there in going with Diaz, Fryer, and eventually Stewart.
