The Pirates announced a few injury updates this afternoon, with Jarlin Garcia and Termarr Johnson likely out for the start of the season. The updates from Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk come via Justice delos Santos and Jason Mackey.
The big news regarding the MLB roster is that Garcia will need several weeks before he can throw.
Jarlín García is currently unable to grip a baseball, but the tests on his shoulder and his elbow are coming back clean. The team is trying to hone in on a diagnosis more specific than "left arm tightness".
García will likely need several weeks before he begins to throw.
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) March 8, 2023
It’s almost a certainty that Garcia will begin the season on the injured list, which makes the left-handed relief spot uncertain. Garcia was signed to give the Pirates a lefty out of the bullpen. They’ve added several other options and you can bet that the Pirates will bring at least one of them north at the end of the month.
Jose Hernandez, the hard-thrower taken in the Rule 5 draft, seems to have an inside track for a roster spot with his status. The Pirates have also added Angel Perdomo, Daniel Zamora, Rob Zastryzny, and Caleb Smith on minor league deals. They’ve been giving all of these pitchers a good look early. Zamora has pitched four innings. Hernandez, Perdomo, and Zastryzny have each pitched three innings. Smith, who was signed at the start of camp, has already pitched two innings.
Hernandez has shown some promise, but I would imagine the Pirates would want an additional left-hander, as he only has 38.2 innings above A-ball. I would expect the other four to battle for the spot that has been vacated by Garcia.
In another injury update, Termarr Johnson will miss at least six weeks with his hamstring injury, from the original date.
Tomczyk also says Termarr Johnson (hamstring) will miss a minimum of six weeks (from original injury date). https://t.co/2iPUiU574E
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) March 8, 2023
Johnson injured his hamstring two weeks ago in the early part of camp. This timeline means that he will be out for at least another month.
I’m not sure if Johnson will be heading to Bradenton or Greensboro this season, but those seasons don’t begin for another month. This seems like it will delay the start of his season at this point. I would consider a four month season for Johnson, ending with good progress in High-A, to be a positive from this stage.
