PITTSBURGH — After 12 turns in the starting rotation and a trip to the restricted list, the Pirates will move right-handed pitcher Juan Nicasio to the bullpen. He will be available to pitch Friday night.
Nicasio spent the 2015 season in the bullpen for the Los Angeles Dodgers — the Pirates’ opponents on Friday — where he had a 1.56 WHIP in 58.1 innings pitched.
The Pirates see Nicasio as a possible solution to their middle relief problems, as either a one-inning or multiple-inning option. He threw a bullpen session with Euclides Rojas late on Thursday. The Pirates expect Nicasio to remain in the bullpen for the foreseeable future.
“We’ve been having conversations since we acquired him,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “What’s the best fit and what can we do to help him grow and develop? We gave him 12 starts. I think we saw some things that we needed to see and some things that continue to say, ‘Is it time to try something different?'”
Nicasio was originally penciled into the bullpen when he was signed this past off-season, a strong Spring Training convinced the Pirates to try him in the rotation.
The results were mixed. He had a 3.33 ERA after his first five starts, including seven shutout innings on April 29 against Cincinnati. But recently, things hadn’t been going as well. He has given up three runs or more in seven of his last eight starts and his ERA has ballooned to 5.86.
After a conversation with Nicasio, Hurdle feels that he will embrace the change to the bullpen and feels that having faced some adversity as a starter this year will make him a better pitcher in the long run.
“I think last year was an eye-opening experience for him to have the success he did out of the bullpen, because I think there’s a big old kid in there that wants to starts and that’s the struggle right now for a lot of these guys,” Hurdle said. “He pitched well enough in spring for us to try and maximize that opportunity, leverage it and see where he could take it, and I think we still ran into some of the challenges that young throwers that are trying to become pitchers run into when you’re trying to go through a lineup three times.”
The Pirates still have an open spot in their rotation until Gerrit Cole returns from his triceps injury. That spot will come up on Sunday. Hurdle has not announced who will make that start. However, Chad Kuhl is currently in Pittsburgh working out with the team, so that could be the answer.
Chad Kuhl is here at PNC Park, stretching out on the field. I'd say that's a decent sign he's starting Sunday night.
— Adam Berry (@adamdberry) June 24, 2016
Kuhl was originally slated to start in Indianapolis tomorrow, and it doesn’t appear that will be happening now. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him getting the call this weekend to make that Sunday start.
NOTES
• Gregory Polanco will not start tonight because of a left leg issue. The team is still evaluating whether or not he will be available off the bench.
• Starling Marte said his sore left foot feels “much better.” He is back in left field.
• Catcher Chris Stewart will be back behind the plate after taking Thursday off to rest his sore knee. He didn’t report any issues with it and appears to be back to something approaching full strength.
• Jameson Taillon will make his fourth career start for the Pirates and will face spot-starter Nick Tepesch, who hasn’t had a Major League appearance since 2014.
