Pirates Injury Update: Jake Marisnick is Close to a Rehab Assignment

Jake Marisnick, during his short stint with the Pittsburgh Pirates, has been filled with multiple defensive highlights in left-field. On several occasions, Marisnick sacrificed the body on diving catches to prevent either runs from scoring or extra-base hits.

One of Marisnick’s most memorable catches came on April 30th against the San Diego Padres, robbing Ha-Seong Kim of at least two bases in a 3-3 game. You could also point out key throws into the infield against the Chicago Cubs on April 24th in a winning effort.

On May 10th, the Pirates placed Marisnick on the due to a left thumb injury, and two days later, Marisnick had surgery to repair said thumb. On Ben Cherington’s radio show on Sunday, he and Joe Block discussed Marisnick’s progress.

“We think Marisnick is getting close to a rehab assignment,” said Cherington. “Marisnick is doing all of the baseball activities, including swinging a bat. We’ve got to get Marisnick to face some velocity soon and then build a rehab program to see some live at-bats. It’s a thumb injury, so we have to be careful about how much volume we show Marisnick right away and listen to how he feels about swinging and making contact.”

Marisnick is clearly a defensive first player with a slash line of just .163/.196/.204 and an OPS of .400. With the Pirates’ outfield so crowded at the moment, we will see how they want to approach guys like Gamel, Marisnick, and others when they come off the injured list. Some interesting times are quickly approaching, folks.