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Pirates Notes: Tyler Glasnow and Elias Diaz Return to the Majors

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PITTSBURGH — Elias Diaz will make his return to Pittsburgh just a few days after coming off the 60-day disabled list. The Pirates’ catching prospect had surgery to repair a right elbow injury in May and has spent most of the season recovering. He was optioned to Triple-A recently, just three days after his rehab stint ended, but an unexpected opportunity opened up in Pittsburgh, leading to today’s move.

Catcher Eric Fryer’s wife Allison gave birth to twins Saturday morning, and Fryer will spend the rest of the weekend series on the paternity list, giving Diaz a chance to be immediately rewarded for the hard work he put in.

“It actually turned out to be fortuitous timing because Diaz has been back in play and has done a nice job,” manager Clint Hurdle said “He’s a guy we’ve been looking forward to seeing all year.”

This will be Diaz’s second stint with the big club, and he said to be able to get called up immediately after going through rehab makes this trip to Pittsburgh more special.

“The first time I got called up, it was a joyful moment, but this time was a lot more special,” Diaz said through translator Mike Gonzalez. “What made it more special is that I had to overcome some really tough challenges. Recovering and recovering 100 percent, going through the injury that I went through, the mental effect, the physical effect, that’s hard. That’s not something that’s simple to do. That’s not something easy for anyone. For me to be able to say I made it up here but I had to fight through challenges, I never got discouraged, I never gave up, I didn’t that quit. That [makes] this opportunity a lot more [special].”

Hurdle said he got excellent reports from Diaz’s minor-league stops during his rehabilitation.

“He spent some time in Bradenton and I talked to [Marauders manager] Michael Ryan last week about Elias’ departure,” Hurdle said. “It was a similar situation to Francisco [Cervelli], he wasn’t there just to get his work in and take care of himself. He was there to be a part of the team for as long as he was asked to be a part of the team. His at-bats were clean, he threw the ball well, he blocked. It was coming together. He went three games with [Indianapolis manager Dean Treanor]. I exchanged information with Dean today. He looked fine and ready. If there’s a need, while he’s here, we won’t have any hesitation using him in a game.”

ODD MAN OUT

The Pirates recalled pitcher Tyler Glasnow early Saturday in order for him to make his second major-league start. Because of a quirky second-half schedule with some extra days off, they have been carrying just four starting pitchers and an extra reliever. In order to bring up Glasnow, the Pirates needed to part ways with a reliever, and right-hander A.J. Schugel is the odd man out.

“It’s not about performance at all, it’s about him having an option and three men are in the bullpen now with length possibilities,” Hurdle said, referencing Jeff Locke, Juan Nicasio and Jon Niese. “He’s been a valuable guy out there and he’ll be a valuable guy again before the season is over.”

Hurdle was extremely complimentary of the work Schugel has done.

“He has a very good awareness on the mound,” Hurdle said. “He has very good awareness with his touch and feel for his pitches. He reads swings well. The changeup keeps him on both sides of the plate for a right-hander or a left-hander. … His control was off the charts for a long time. There’s been a walk here or there since then. He throws strikes, attacks the zone.”

It’s clear then, that even though Schugel was sent down, he has earned the trust of his manager, something that’s important for a young reliever.

“I’d like to think so,” Schugel said. “I’d like to think this isn’t bad thing. It’s just something with business side of it that’s part of the game. … I’ll just go down and continue to work. There’s nothing [specifically] that I need to work on. Obviously there’s always something to improve, but nothing in particular, just getting some innings.”

Schugel had been in the majors since May 24, and he feels good about his balance of work that has resulted in a 3.94 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP in 33 appearances.

“Overall, I think the big picture, I’m happy,” he said. “Obviously, there’s a couple [pitches] I’d like back, but that’s part of it. … Zeroes, you put up clean innings and zeroes, you’re doing something.”

TIME FOR A CHANGE

The Pirates repeatedly gave two reasons for delaying Glasnow’s arrival at the major-league level: fastball command and working on his changeup. The changeup is still a front-burner issue for the Pirates when it comes to Glasnow being able to be successful long-term on the majors.

“I’ve only seen one big-league pitcher pitch with two pitches for an extended period of time and that was Dwight Gooden,” Hurdle said. “You can figure out how many times those guys come along. We’ll see. He’s been able to use it and see the development of it. I think he understands how it can turn out to be a factor.”

The Pirates don’t necessarily need to keep Glasnow in the rotation with several other options, so how he looks against the Phillies could have a big factor in where and when his next start happens.

“We’ll watch him pitch [Saturday] and we’ll figure it out accordingly,” Hurdle said.

VOGELSONG UPDATE

Pitcher Ryan Vogelsong is back with the team and undergoing treatment on his neck, which caused him to remove himself from his last rehab start.

“Everything was going tremendously well until I tweaked my neck in my last rehab start,” he said. “If it wasn’t for my neck, I would be ready to be activated today. It’s just crazy how I’ve been through all this, waited 57 days, and then tweaked my neck a little bit.”

Vogelsong will play catch Saturday, throw a bullpen Sunday, and then will be evaluated for the next step.

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