Pirates Q&A: How Will Bucs Make Room for Jared Jones?
Welcome back to another edition of our Pittsburgh Pirates Q&A. Let’s get to your questions.
How do you make room for J. Jones’s return – Michael Musser
Jared Jones (recovering from right elbow surgery) is set to make the second start of his rehab assignment tonight for Triple-A Indianapolis against the Omaha Storm Chasers.
General manager Ben Cherington said that long-term, Jones is a starting pitcher. However, the Pirates have several options for how they onboard the right-hander once he’s reinstated from the injured list.
The first option is to immediately insert him into the rotation. In doing this, his pitch count will be closely monitored each start as he ramps back up and there will almost certainly be an innings limit in place.
The second option is to piggy-back him with Carmen Mlodzinski every fifth day. Mlodzinski has been an effective reliever in his big-league career but tends to struggle the longer he goes as a starter. I actually really like the idea of each pitcher going three or four innings because for Mlodzinski, that’s when he’s most effective, and for Jones, they’ll be able to limit his innings.
How will they make room for him? It depends how they use him. They could shift Mlodzinski to the bullpen again full-time. To clear a spot on the active roster, the Pirates have the 13th pitcher on the roster that should make a move easy, right now it’s Chris Devenski. Keep in mind, a 40-man spot will also be necessary (Devenski? Cam Sanders? José Urquidy?).
How long did you give Ozuna before you make a move? – Derf Esurk
Marcell Ozuna has been playing better of late. He’s riding a four-game hitting streak and is 6 for 17 (.353) with a double, a home run and five RBI during that span.
It looked like Ozuna was turning a corner last homestand before scuffling once the Pirates hit the road again. If the veteran wants to feel good about his job security, he’ll need to maintain his current momentum.
We’re far enough into the season to the point where sample sizes are getting to be enough to where conclusions can be drawn. And Ozuna still carries a lowly .189/.256/.297 batting line with three home runs and 13 RBI in 29 games.
For now, the Pirates will keep him. But they’ve already dropped him in the order. If he falls into another slump, a more drastic measure might be taken. That could require the Pirates to eat $12 million, though, which I’m sure they are hesitant to do.
Williams is tearing it up in triple A, any chance of him getting another shot up here, especially if Triolo struggles again with the bat? – Dean Wagner
Alika Williams is indeed having a strong season with Indianapolis. He’s currently tied for third in the International League with a .347 batting average and has a .406 OBP and a .505 slugging percentage.
His emergence so far this season is an encouraging development for the Pirates, but unless something drastic happens, it still might be hard to get him on the roster.
Konnor Griffin isn’t going anywhere and is really heating up. Nick Gonzales is essentially the everyday third baseman as long as he continues to perform well. Brandon Lowe has been one of the best hitters on the team. The Pirates love Jared Triolo’s defense, even if his offense isn’t what it was to end last season. Plus Nick Yorke is still ahead of him on the depth chart.
Williams has value as a strong defender and could be a fine backup infielder. But I don’t see the Pirates being overly-aggressive in adding him to both rosters.
Matchups aside, why can’t a pitcher like Soto pitch more than an inning like he did on Sunday ? I hate it when they (DK) use two or three pitchers who after being ineffective, leave you with no one if it does go extra innings! – Dave Kurutz
That’s not just a Pirates thing, Dave, it’s just the way the game is structured today. Would I like to see relievers in certain spots keep going? Sure, but teams are much more cautious with their bullpen arms than they used to be.
Also consider that if a reliever does go two innings, that means he will be unavailable for the following game. It’s a tough balancing act for managers, but I agree, I liked seeing Don Kelly leave Gregory Soto in on Sunday and he came through.
I think as the Pirates continue to stretch out their starters, this will be less of an issue.
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Easy answer, send Mlod or Bubba top Indy or Altoona, adding Jones.