The Pittsburgh Pirates placed Joey Bart on the 10-day injured list on Monday because of a left hamstring strain and recalled fellow catcher Henry Davis from Triple-A Indianapolis.
In other moves, the Pirates activated infielder Nick Gonzales (groin discomfort) from the 10-day IL and designated right-hander Jake Woodford for assignment. Gonzales will move from second base to shortstop and the club is moving shortstop Oneil Cruz to center field.
Bart was hurt trying to beat out a grounder in the first inning of Pittsburgh’s 4-3 home victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday. Bart got an RBI on the groundout but left the game with left hamstring discomfort.
He is batting .272 with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs in 63 games since he was traded from the San Francisco Giants to the Pirates on April 2.
Bart, 27, is a career .235 hitter with 23 homers and 77 RBIs in 225 games for the Giants (2020-23) and Pirates. The Giants selected him second overall in the 2018 MLB Draft out of Georgia Tech.
Davis, 24, was the first overall pick by the Pirates in the 2021 draft out of Louisville. He hit .153 with one homer and five RBIs in 29 games this season for Pittsburgh and is a combined .299 with 13 homers and 43 RBIs in 59 games at the Pirates’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates this year.
Gonzales, 25, was the team’s starting second baseman prior to his injury. He is batting .258 with five homers and 39 RBIs in 65 games for the Pirates this season. Pittsburgh picked him seventh overall in the 2020 draft out of New Mexico State.
Cruz, 25, is the most talented player on the Pittsburgh roster but has had troubles in the field at shortstop with 24 errors (12 fielding, 12 throwing) in 112 games (107 starts) at the position this season. Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (26) is the only player in the majors with more errors.
Cruz owns a powerful but erratic throwing arm. He recently attempted to throw a baseball out of San Diego’s Petco Park from in front of the third-base dugout and came up three rows short.
The Pirates are planning on Cruz being the center fielder of the present and future.
“We really believe this is a huge opportunity for both him and our team, both,” Pittsburgh general manager Ben Cherington told reporters prior to Monday’s game against the Chicago Cubs. “That’s our mindset. We believe that will be his mindset going into it.”
Cruz was slated to be the designated hitter on Monday. He is batting .265 with 18 homers, 63 RBIs and 17 steals in 117 games.
Woodford, 27, is 0-4 with a 6.95 ERA, four walks and 14 strikeouts in 22 innings over six games (four starts) since signing as a free agent with the Pirates on June 10.
He also pitched in two games for the Chicago White Sox this season and was 0-2 with a 10.80 ERA, five walks and seven strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings. Woodford is a career 10-13 with a 4.81 ERA in 88 games (24 starts) for the St. Louis Cardinals (2020-23), White Sox and Pirates.
–Field Level Media
