Moran, Evans among Bucs' injury updates

PITTSBURGH -- As the Pirates begin to lay out rehab assignments for some of their injured players, general manager Ben Cherington said he’s hopeful that Colin Moran and Phillip Evans will not need such stints.

Moran went to the 10-day injured list last Sunday after straining his left groin muscle on a diving play as he attempted to complete an unassisted double play against the Cubs. The first baseman has done light baseball activities in the past few days, including taking ground balls on Saturday.

Evans was sent to the injured list after pulling up at second base on an RBI single by Gregory Polanco in Wednesday’s loss to the Reds. With Evans, the Pirates’ main super-utility option, slated to get the bulk of reps for Moran at first base, it necessitated the callup of Will Craig, who started his fourth consecutive game on Sunday.

“Our hope is that -- in the way they’re coming along -- they can both start to ramp up their baseball activities and perhaps even avoid a rehab assignment, and be in a position where we could bring them back at some point,” Cherington said. “We don’t have a date for that yet, but they’re both progressing.”

Meanwhile, the rehab plans are already being set for Ke’Bryan Hayes and Chad Kuhl.

Hayes has been out of action since April 4 with a left wrist strain. He was transferred to the 60-day IL on May 9 to open up a roster spot and give him adequate time to recover, not long after he had a setback during a round of swings in Detroit.

Cherington said Hayes should begin his rehab assignment in the “next several days” while the Major League team begins a road trip, and it’s not going to be just a few games.

“In fairness to him, we have to give him a chance to play a good amount so he gets some Minor League games under his belt just to build back up, because it’s not just the wrist at this point,” Cherington said. “It’s making sure the body is conditioned to play nine-inning games again and get through that progression.”

Kuhl, who was sent to the 10-day IL on April 22 (retroactive to April 19), threw a two-inning simulated game in the past few days and a side session on Saturday. Therefore, Cherington said it’s about time to get the Pirates’ Opening Day starter to Triple-A Indianapolis, where the right-hander is expected to get more than one start.

“Given the time missed and the importance of a starter and getting the pitch count back up, we want to give him a chance to face hitters. So he’s going to spend some time with Indy, and we look forward to seeing him back not too long now.”

Worth noting

? The Pirates are “inching closer” to the 85% COVID-19 vaccination threshold at the Major League level.

Clubs were informed just before Opening Day that MLB and the MLBPA have agreed to relax certain health and safety protocols contained in the 2021 Operations Manual for fully vaccinated Tier 1 Individuals and for clubs where 85% of their Tier 1 Individuals are fully vaccinated. As part of that memo, players and staff were again strongly encouraged to receive one of the approved COVID-19 vaccines when eligible.

Now, Cherington said the team is within the single digits of achieving that benchmark.

“We’re encouraged by that, and part of the encouragement is that the more vaccinated folks we have, the more likely that the protocols ease up,” Cherington said. “That is part of it, but I would argue more importantly is that we care about people’s health and safety.”

The GM also relayed that “a strong majority” of Minor League players and staffers in the organization have been vaccinated.

? Right-hander Kyle Keller, who was activated on Saturday, made his debut in the Pirates’ 8-6 victory that night against the Giants, logging 1 1/3 innings with two runs allowed on a home run by Mike Tauchman.

Keller used his fastball-curveball combo, not turning to his third offering that he used last season: A changeup. That pitch, which Keller threw three times with the Angels in 2020 before being traded to the Pirates this spring, has such a unique movement that Baseball Savant classified it as a forkball.

“I’m not even sure what a forkball is, to be honest with you,” Keller said, “but I don’t think there’s too much fundamentally different. It’s just something with the way I throw it, I guess.”