News
Willson Contreras was removed from Saturday night’s game against the Twins after being hit on the hand by a pitch.
The 32-year-old backstop was plunked for the 12th time on the season and appeared to be in a significant amount of pain after this particular one. He’ll head for X-rays to rule out any potential fractures. Expect the Cardinals to provide an update on his status as soon as that imaging is done.
Rockies activated INF/OF Tyler Freeman from the 10-day injured list.
Freeman had been sidelined since early April due to a left oblique strain. Before landing on the injured list he was hitting just .091 (1-for-11) with a 3/2 K/BB ratio over his first seven games with the Rockies. Freeman is not in the Rockies’ starting lineup for Friday night’s showdown against the Diamondbacks.
Rockies activated INF Aaron Schunk from the 10-day injured list.
The Rockies’ infield is getting reinforcements on Friday with Schunk and Ezequiel Tovar both returning from the injured list. The 27-year-old has been shelved since April 26 due to a left groin strain. He is not in the team’s starting lineup for Friday night’s battle against Corbin Burnes and the Diamondbacks in Arizona.
Rockies activated INF Ezequiel Tovar from the 10-day injured list.
The dynamic 23-year-old shortstop has been shelved since mid-April due to a hip contusion. His bat is desperately needed in the middle of a Rockies’ lineup that has been struggling to generate consistent offense. Before landing on the shelf, Tovar was slashing .212/.257/.303 with zero homers, four RBI and two stolen bases in his first 66 at-bats.
Pirates optioned INF/OF Ji Hwan Bae to Triple-A Indianapolis.
The 25-year-old struggled in his limited action with the Pirates this time around, going 1-for-11 (.091) with five strikeouts and a pair of stolen bases. He’ll continue to work on his game at the Triple-A level until another opportunity emerges at the big league level.
Pirates selected the contract of INF/OF Nick Solak from Triple-A Indianapolis.
The versatile 30-year-old was absolutely crushing it at Triple-A Indianapolis, slashing .393/.452/.625 with six homers, 19 RBI and four stolen bases in his first 126 plate appearances. With production like that, it’s no surprise that the Bucs would want to give him an opportunity. Ji Hwan Bae was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
Pirates designated INF Michael Helman for assignment.
Helman was just claimed off of waivers from the Cardinals on Wednesday, but he became a roster casualty once again as the Pirates needed to free up a spot on their 40-man for Nick Solak on Friday. Once again, he could attract some interest on waivers.