Pirates move Ke'Bryan Hayes to 60-day injured list; he can't return until early June
May 9—The Pittsburgh Pirates, already losers of eight of their past nine games, reached a new level of misfortune on the injury front Sunday.
Third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes, who hasn't played since the second game of the season with a strained left wrist, was moved from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list. The move is retroactive to April 4 when Hayes initially was de-activated. He will be eligible to come off the list June 3.
Also, first baseman Colin Moran, who shares the team home run lead with Phillip Evans (four), went on the 10-day injured list with the left groin injury he suffered Saturday. General manager Ben Cherington said the team hopes to learn more about Moran's injury in next few days.
Center fielder Bryan Reynolds also was out of the lineup Sunday for the second game in a row as the Pirates concluded their three-game series with the Chicago Cubs. Manager Derek Shelton said Reynolds has lower-body soreness.
That leaves the Pirates without Hayes, Reynolds (.278), Moran and right fielder Gregory Polanco, who has been on the injured list since May 4. Pirates officials have not disclosed the nature of Polanco's absence.
To help ease the manpower shortage, the Pirates claimed outfielder Ben Gamel off waivers from the Cleveland Indians and activated outfielder Troy Stokes Jr., who had been in Triple-A Indianapolis.
The Indians designated Gamel, 28, for assignment after he was 1 for 14 in 11 games this season. Previously, he has played with the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers, with a career .259 batting average and, 23 home runs and 126 RBIs in 453 games.
The Pirates made room for Gamel on the 40-man roster by designating relief pitcher Michael Feliz for assignment. Feliz, part of the Gerrit Cole trade in 2019, pitched in seven games for the Pirates this season with a 2.35 ERA and 1.17 WHIP.
Stokes, 25, never has played in the majors after he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth round.
Shelton said Stokes made a favorable impression on his staff during spring training.
"The thing we liked in the spring was aggressiveness," Shelton said. "He really got after it. He can play all three outfield positions, gives us some flexibility and versatility there."
Shelton did not indicate that Hayes suffered a setback in his rehab.
"With the way he was progressing and the way the rehab lined up, he wasn't going to be back until that time (early June), anyway," he said. "He'll stay on the progression he's on and he will continue to hit."
Said Cherington of Hayes' potential return: "He's going to need to go through a game progression and get him built back up."
Reynolds had played in all 31 games before Saturday. "He's been playing a lot," Shelton said. "With the conditions (in Wrigley Field) and with him being a little bit sore, we decided to give him another day."
Meanwhile, Shelton said Todd Frazier, who was 1 for 31 this season, Evans and, perhaps, shortstop/third baseman Erik Gonzalez will replace Moran at first base.
"We're going to have to figure out ways to be a little creative in our lineup," Shelton said. "(Moran) has had consistent at-bats. He's been driving the ball, creating run-scoring opportunities, driving runs in (a team-high 19).
"When you lose a guy like that, it does have some impact. We have some other guys we will put in different spots and (they) need to step up in their roles."
Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jerry by email at jdipaola@triblive.com or via Twitter .
