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First Pitch: The Pirates Roster Decisions When Harrison and Mercer Return

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The Pirates had some good news today, announcing that Josh Harrison will begin his rehab next week, followed by Jordy Mercer starting his own rehab a few days later. Typically a hitter in rehab will play two games at five innings, two at seven innings, and two full games. However, it sounds like Harrison and Mercer will have a different path, as Clint Hurdle said they would be starting with seven inning games, and aiming to get 20-25 at-bats total.

Depending on how the rehab goes for each player, the Pirates could have both back before the end of the month. Those returns would create some interesting roster decisions.

The return of Harrison would likely come first, and the decision here would be easy. The Pirates would most likely send Pedro Florimon out, which would require that he be designated for assignment. With Mercer returning shortly after Harrison, that wouldn’t be a big loss. Florimon would get very little playing time behind Mercer and Jung-ho Kang at shortstop. Florimon has no bat, and all of his value comes on defense, but Mercer would fill the need for a defensive shortstop.

The next decision would be difficult. When Mercer returns, the Pirates would have to choose between Sean Rodriguez and Travis Ishikawa, assuming Mike Morse and Aramis Ramirez are both safe on the roster. Ishikawa has been the best bench bat this year, which isn’t saying a ton, but he has been productive. Rodriguez hasn’t been productive with the bat, but can play a lot of positions with good defense, and has settled in as the late inning defensive replacement at first base. There’s some value there, although you could argue that Ishikawa could play the same role.

It would be interesting to see what the Pirates do, especially with the timing of the rehab. Harrison will start on the 11th, and will have 20 days, which means he needs to be up by August 31st. Mercer will start a few days later, which means he doesn’t need to return until a few days after rosters expand in September. The Pirates could get by without losing anyone with the following roster maneuvers:

**Bring Harrison back on the 31st.

**Option a relief pitcher or a starting pitcher who was recently used to Bristol. Why Bristol? Their season ends on September 1st, which means this player could be brought back to the majors on September 2nd. The Pirates don’t play on August 31st, so they’d just need to find someone who wouldn’t be used on the 1st. For example, J.A. Happ has an option remaining. They could option him down on the 31st, bring him back up on the 2nd, and he wouldn’t miss any actual time in the majors as long as he wasn’t scheduled to pitch on the 1st (and with the off-day, they could restructure the schedule to make that happen…or should I say HAPPen?).

**Bring Mercer back from rehab on September 1st, when rosters expand and no corresponding move is needed.

By doing this, the Pirates would keep everyone, and make their bench deeper for September. The only debate here is whether you rush back Harrison and/or Mercer a few days early, or give them a few extra days to return in exchange for keeping a strong defensive shortstop (Florimon) and either a decent bat off the bench (Ishikawa) or a super utility player who has been the defensive replacement at first base in late innings (Rodriguez). Considering how the Pirates have used their bench for late inning defensive swaps this year, I think there could be some value in keeping all of these guys around. A month of two extra bench options would at least be worth the same as a few extra days of Harrison and/or Mercer.

One other note: Happ (in this example) could be optioned down a few days earlier, depending on when he’s scheduled to pitch, which would allow them to bring Harrison back a few days earlier without losing anyone for good.

We’ll see how it plays out, but with some smart roster management, the Pirates are lined up to keep everyone when Harrison and Mercer return, leading to a much stronger and more flexible bench in September.

**Pirates Bullpen Shortens Game in Victory Over Cubs. Pete Ellis recaps tonight’s win over the Cubs, with a specific look at how the newly improved bullpen shortened the game.

**Prospect Watch: Hinsz Looks Good Again, Garcia Runs Into Trouble. John is going to expand on this in the Morning Report, but I really like how the Prospect Watch has been going with the recent changes. I also love that there’s more time for detailed reports. And of course the live reports are always something I’m proud of. My report from Morgantown tonight was one of my favorite ones from this road trip.

**Indians Claim Deolis Guerra Off Waivers. He would have been a good bullpen depth option in September. Fortunately, the Pirates have a lot of other candidates.

**Mercer and Harrison Will Start Rehab Soon; Pirates Rotation Shuffled. Along with the Harrison/Mercer news, the Pirates rotation gets shuffled heading into the weekend.

**Michael Morse Hoping to Rebound With Fresh Start, Regular At-Bats. Pete Ellis takes a look at Michael Morse, who is hoping to get back to 2014 form.

**Morning Report: Draft Picks, Struggling Catchers and How Age Affects Prospect Status

 

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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