The Pittsburgh Pirates have sent third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and IF/OF Pablo Reyes to Morgantown to begin a rehab assignment on Saturday. Both players were placed on the injured list on June 13th. Hayes had a dislocated left index finger, while Reyes was out with a left hamstring strain. Their injuries occurred just outs apart from each other, though Hayes got hurt in the ninth inning on one night, then Reyes in the first inning the next day.
Hayes hit .241/.333/.388 in 58 games at Indianapolis before the injury, with 20 doubles and eight stolen bases in nine attempts. Reyes hit .257/.296/.495 in 31 games with Indianapolis after joining them on May 4th, following his time with the Pirates to begin this season.
In other news, Gift Ngoepe is now active this weekend in Altoona. He signed with the Pirates earlier this week after being released by the Philadelphia Phillies. Ngoepe batted .221/.296/.410 in 41 games at Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season.
To make room on the active roster, outfielder Ryan Peurifoy was assigned to Bradenton. He hit .106/.208/.170 for the Curve in 26 games and was basically serving as the 26th man, rotating in and out of the active roster as injuries and promotions occurred.
In almost happened news, Fernando Villegas was going to play today in the GCL, but the game got washed away. With the club off on Sunday, he will have to wait until Monday to play. The 21-year-old (his birthday was yesterday) outfielder from Mexico was one of the best hitters for the Pirates during Extended Spring Training this year, but he suffered a late injury that has kept him out for the last month and delayed his season debut.
If any other minor league news comes up today, we will add it to this article, unless it’s significant enough to warrant its own article.
