The Pittsburgh Pirates placed outfielder Bryan Reynolds on the 10-day Injured List due to lower back stiffness prior to Thursday’s game in Miami. Reliever Cody Bolton has been added to the active roster. Outfielder Cal Mitchell was promoted three days ago to help with Reynolds missing time, though it turned into a trip to the IL.
Reynolds wasn’t expected to miss much time, which is why they waited on placing him on the IL. He’s hitting .279/.350/.473 over 68 games this year.
Bolton has had two stints with the Pirates already. He has allowed 11 runs over eight innings, with 15 hits, nine walks and seven strikeouts.
He has a 2.77 ERA, 26 strikeouts and a 1.04 WHIP in 26 innings for Indianapolis this season.
Ji-Man Choi Returns
Altoona will get the services of 1B/DH Ji-Man Choi on a rehab assignment. He hit .125/.125/.344 in nine games for the Pirates before going on the IL due to a strained left Achilles tendon.
No word yet on how long he will rehab, as he has missed just over two full months of playing time.
Cheng Gets Promoted
The Pittsburgh Pirates promoted 21-year-old infielder Tsung-Che Cheng to Double-A Altoona on Thursday.
Cheng has posted a .308/.406/.575 slash line through 57 games this year, with 12 doubles, nine triples, nine homers and 13 stolen bases. He had a .794 OPS in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League last year, which earned him an All-Star selection to the league’s end-of-the-year All-Star team. His .941 OPS in the Florida Complex League in 2021 ranked third among all hitters.
It’s easy to look at the stats from Cheng this year and assume that the hitter-friendly park in Greensboro helped him out. However, he compiled a 1.066 OPS in 31 road games, compared to an .876 OPS at home in 26 games.
He’s leaving the South Atlantic League as the league’s leader in OPS and triples, while ranking top ten in almost every other offensive category. He’s also committed two errors in 31 games at shortstop and one error in 27 games (24 starts) at second base.
Check back for any updates throughout the day
