BRADENTON, Fla. – Every Wednesday during the season, the Pirates release an injury update via Head Athletic Trainer Todd Tomczyk. Today was the first update for 2017, and fortunately there was only one player who needed an update. That was Josh Bell, who is in week two of his 2-4 week recovery from knee surgery.
Tomczyk said that Bell is still falling in his projected 2-4 week return, and that he’s currently doing on field work, throwing, and taking dry swings in the batting cages. Bell said earlier this week that he hopes to progress to hitting at some point this week. There’s still no word on whether he will be ready for Opening Day, but the early signs of his rehab have been encouraging.
Chris Stewart and Gerrit Cole are both healthy now, but both had injuries last year. Tomczyk said that the team is taking a concerted effort with Stewart’s buildup, due to his history of knee surgeries. As for Cole, who went on the disabled list three times last year with shoulder issues, Tomczyk said he’s recommitting to training.
“Gerrit has recommitted himself again to training,” Tomczyk said. “He had an eventful offseason, getting married, honeymoon. It’s never a lack of focus with Gerrit. Gerrit is a very diligent man. He knows his body. He works hard. I think he just went through some hiccups that most pitchers do throughout the season, in figuring out what you can and can’t do with the demands of throwing a baseball put upon a player. He’s in a good spot. He’s focused on getting back out there and helping the team win this year.”
Huntington on Josh Bell’s Defense
Neal Huntington was asked yesterday about Josh Bell’s defensive work since moving to first base, and whether the team sees him as a guy who can carry a full-season workload at the position with his defense.
“As we saw last year, it’s still a work in progress,” Huntington said. “This is year three of him playing first base. Unlike most guys who played the infield growing up and moved to the outfield, Josh played the outfield growing up. There’s work to be done. He’s worked so hard. Kevin Young and Joey Cora, since he’s come on board in that role, they’ve worked with Josh. Josh has worked hard. Work is never going to be a question. He seems like he’s in a great spot.”
The knee surgery recently probably won’t play an impact in Bell’s defensive work. His conditioning over the offseason might play a bigger role in adding more flexibility and more agility at the position.
“Physically, he was in tremendous shape before the loose body moved and bothered him during one of his workouts and they had to go get that thing out of there. He should be in a good spot. He should be ready to go, assuming everything continues to progress well. We love the bat and the glove. He’s going to work. He’s going to do everything in his power, and we feel like he can be an adequate first baseman that can develop into more.”
More to Come From the Free Agent Market?
Huntington said that the club continues to stay engaged with free agents, even after Spring Training has begun. There are still a few talented players available on the market, and the Pirates made late additions last year of Matt Joyce and David Freese, with the latter being signed in early March. So could they go that route again? Huntington really wasn’t committed to the idea, other than saying they were still talking to free agents.
“We stay engaged with the free agents and there really hasn’t been anybody that has surprised us, in terms of what they signed for, or how they signed, or where they signed,” Huntington said. “Always looking to find ways to help us get a little bit better. Going into the offseason, I bet most of you weren’t going to have that we signed the 13th most valuable contract, and spent the 10th most money in baseball this [offseason]. I think it’s probably more of a sign of the industry this year, and the class than anything else. We’re always looking for ways, whether it’s small ways or medium ways or sometimes big ways to see if we can help ourselves get better.”
Other Notes
**Clint Hurdle said that Andrew McCutchen will bat in the three hole this year, but said most of the rest of the lineup is written in pencil at the moment.
**Tony Watson was out of camp today with his arbitration hearing.
**Hurdle on the depth that is coming from the minor league system this year: “This is the first time that we have filled a lot of our depth options internally with our own players. Our minor league system has been so fertile, so productive, we’ve got guys in camp now putting themselves in position that we think will help us during the 2017 season.”
