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Chris Stewart to Rejoin Pirates When Rosters Expand on September 1st

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ALTOONA, PA – According to Altoona Curve manager Joey Cora, Chris Stewart will be rejoining the Pirates once rosters expand on September 1st.

Stewart began a rehab assignment with the Curve on August 12th and has caught eight games so far. He began by catching seven innings games with a day break in-between. He then caught four innings on the 16th and seven innings on 17th, both games shortened because of being a part of a doubleheader.

Since August 20th, Stewart has progressed to catching nine inning games with a day off in-between. Cora said that they do not plan on catching him back-to-back at all for the rest of his rehab assignment, as it is not something that he would do in the majors.

Otherwise, Stewart is healthy and should be ready to return to the Pirates on September 1st.

“He’s healthy, and he’s getting through it,” Cora said. “He probably has two more games to go here, and hopefully everything finishes out okay. He’s doing what he needs to do to get back to the big leagues. It’s a matter of him being healthy for nine innings and getting his at-bats.”

Cora commended Stewart on his work with fellow Curve catchers Jin-De Jhang and Tomas Morales, saying that Stewart has worked hard with them daily. Cora also noted that Stewart has been extremely helpful to the pitching staff, giving them advice and tips to help them progress in their respective careers.

All that has been beneficial, but his main goal has been to return to the Pirates as a healthy contributor.

“The main thing for him is to get healthy and get back to the big leagues on the 1st,” Cora said.

Stewart’s bat has been a little behind in terms of results, as he is only hitting .150 (3-for-20) with the Curve. He does, however, have a .393 OBP, drawing seven walks in the process. He has thrown out three runners in nine attempts (33%) in his eight starts.

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