온라인바카라The Pittsburgh Pirates have placed Bae Ji-hwan Bae on the disabled list (IL) with an ankle injury.
“We are transferring Brian Reynolds from the 10-day-IL to the active roster and placing Bae on the 10-day-IL,” Pittsburgh announced on the club’s website on Wednesday.
Reynolds rejoined the team 14 days after being placed on the disabled list on the 20th of last month due to a back injury. Reynolds started in left field at No. 2 against Milwaukee on Sunday and was quiet, going 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout. But the return of Reynolds, who along with Andrew McCutchen and Zack Swinski are considered the “big three” of the team’s batting order, could give Pittsburgh a chance to bounce back.
Pittsburgh ended its home three-game series against Milwaukee with a disappointing 1-2 record, losing 3-6. At 39-44, the Pirates are tied with the Chicago Cubs for third place in the NL Central.
The problem is Bae, who is responsible for the team’s mobility. Bae started at second base against Milwaukee on the 2nd and went 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored before being replaced by Rodolfo Castro in the eighth inning.
Bae sprained his left ankle in the top of the first inning while fielding a Victor Caratini grounder towards centre field and throwing to first base in reverse motion for the out. He remained in the game, but was eventually replaced by a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning, apparently because of the injury.
The local Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported, “Bae has been so sluggish in recent weeks. Before hitting for a pinch-hitter two days ago, he was 1-for-29 (.035) in 11 games’ and ‘After stealing 19 bases in his first 57 games of the season, Bae has added just one in his last 19. His batting average has been sluggish at 0.104 in that span.
With no word from the club on a timetable for Bae’s return, there is speculation that he will be rested until the All-Star break. Pittsburgh closes out the first half of the season with a home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on the 10th. Bae finished the first half a week early.
He played in 76 games (60 starts) this season, batting .238 (51-for-214) with two home runs, 19 RBI, 37 runs scored, 20 doubles, six stolen bases and a .609 OPS. He led the team in stolen bases and finished third in runs scored, but his erratic hitting led to a low on-base percentage (.308) and shaky defence that left him largely untrusted.
As a result, he ended the first half of the season without making a single run. Entering the day with 239 at-bats, Bae was 18 short of the required 257. This is the first time Bae has been on the IL since making his major league debut last September.
Meanwhile, Ji-Man Choi, who was placed on the IL on 15 April with a left Achilles tendon injury, is currently on a minor league rehab assignment. After playing his first game in Double-A, Choi moved to Triple-A to improve his hitting. As of today, he is batting .364 (4-for-11) with two home runs, seven RBIs, and a 1.558 OPS in three Triple-A games. According to MLB.com, Choi has been getting more at-bats with no setbacks to his injury.
Pittsburgh is looking at a late-season return for Choi,