Two Pittsburgh Pirates rehab updates this afternoon:
**James McDonald made a rehab start with the GCL Pirates, and it didn’t go so well. McDonald threw 0.2 innings, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk, with one strikeout. He didn’t complete the inning, and Jimy Hernandez left his final runner stranded. Rehab assignments are always difficult to get a feel for, since you don’t know specifically what the pitcher is working on. However, the GCL pitchers combined to throw 8.1 innings of shutout ball with an 11:3 K/BB ratio against the same team McDonald faced, which doesn’t look good for McDonald.
**Travis Snider will start his rehab work tonight with Altoona. Snider has up to 20 days on rehab assignment, although Altoona doesn’t have that many days left in their season. If he’s not ready by the end of the year, he could join Indianapolis for their playoff run. I don’t expect him to be back before rosters expand.
