Pirates

Pirates to Place Bryan Reynolds on Paternity List, Call up Bligh Madris

Published

2 years ago

July 28, 2022

Pittsburgh Pirates' Bligh Madris celebrates after driving in three runs with a double off Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Daniel Norris during the ninth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. The Cubs won 14-5. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The Pittsburgh Pirates will place center fielder Bryan Reynolds on the paternity list Thursday and recall outfielder/first baseman Bligh Madris from Triple-A Indianapolis.

A baseball source told Pittsburgh Baseball Now!’s Cody Potanko that Madris will be in uniform when the Pirates open a four-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies at 7:05 p.m. at PNC Park.

Now we will see if the Pittsburgh Pirates test out our earlier theory from this morning. Will they try Madris at first base, or will they use him in the outfield until after the trade deadline?

Reynolds can miss up to three days while on the paternity list, and if need be, the Pirates need to give Reynolds more time; they can add him to the Medical emergency list without there being a huge emergency. He is hitting .254/.335/.453 with 15 home runs and 32 RBIs in 85 games.

Madris made his major league debut June 20 and stayed with the Pirates through July 7 before being optioned back to Indianapolis. In 15 games with Pittsburgh, he batted .259/.286/.407 with a homer and six RBIs.

Madris has been having a fine season at Indy with a .296/.372/.490 slash line. He also has hit six home runs and driven in 24 runs. With the calling up of Madris, the Pirates have yet another left-handed bat on the club fighting for playing time.

Will Madris stay with the major league club this time? The timing seems about right with the MLB Trade Deadline right around the corner on Aug. 2. The Pirates have some interesting choices to make both on the market and within their own system.