The Pittsburgh Pirates officially announced the moves we heard about yesterday, along with the moves to open up roster spots. They have recalled shortstop Oneil Cruz and added outfielder Bligh Madris to the 40-man/26-man roster. To make room on the 26-man roster, Liover Peguero has been sent to Altoona and pitcher Zach Thompson has been placed on the 15-day injured list.
We have recalled SS Oneil Cruz and selected OF Bligh Madris from Triple-A Indianapolis.
To make room on the 26-man roster, INF Liover Peguero was optioned to Double-A Altoona and RHP Zach Thompson was placed on the 15-day injured list.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 20, 2022
Thompson’s move was made retroactive to June 18th and he has been diagnosed with right forearm nerve inflammation. He has a 4.47 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and a 41:23 SO/BB ratio in 54.1 innings.
The Pirates traded out one of the best shortstop prospects in baseball for one of the best shortstop prospects in baseball with the Peguero/Cruz flip. Cruz is more than two years older and has the upper level experience, as well as the edge in the prospect rankings, though the gap between the two has closed tremendously this season. Peguero was only up for three days, coming on as a replacement for Tucupita Marcano when he went on the COVID-19 IL. He went 1-for-3 with a walk in his only game.
Cruz hit .232/.326/.422 in 55 games, with nine homers and 11 steals in 17 attempts for Indianapolis. Madris has been the best hitter on Indianapolis this year. He hit .304/.385/.519 in 46 games, and currently ranks seventh in the International League in OPS. Both players are in Monday’s lineup.
UPDATE: The Pirates also announced that Indianapolis is about to get flooded with rehab assignment players. Kevin Newman, Yoshi Tsutsugo and Josh VanMeter will also start their rehab assignments tomorrow in Triple-A
