Clint Hurdle said before today’s game that there are tentative plans for Jason Grilli to begin his rehabilitation stint.
“Jason is going to pitch tomorrow in Altoona. He will start the game, pitch one inning, 20 pitch max. If all goes well there, we’re going to give him the opportunity again in Altoona on Monday, pitch one inning again and start there. Just in pencil, if that goes well, he’ll have another day off and he’ll go pitch out of the bullpen for Indianapolis in Durham on
Pirates fans may see Jason Grilli back in the Shark Tank next weekend. (Photo Credit: David Hague)
Wednesday. One inning, 20 pitches, and then we’ll re-assess.”
With this information, Pirates could see Grilli return to the bullpen sometime next weekend. While the plans are in pencil, they’re encouraging nonetheless.
Wandy Rodriguez
It’s been a positive week for the Pirates’ left-hander, who has not pitched for the Pirates since June 5. Today, Hurdle mentioned what the parameters of a potential rehab slate would look like for Rodriguez.
“We’re still taking it one step at a time. You can put a lot of thought, time, and energy into hypothetical situations and never get to them,” Hurdle said. “Right now, we’ll be very pleased if he can get to three and 50. And then we’ll go from there.”
How much rehab and how much of a role Rodriguez would have in Pittsburgh in September and into the playoffs is relatively cloudy, but his return certainly bolsters the Pirates’ pitching depth. The guy has World Series experience, after all.
The news about Grilli is nice to hear. Given all that has happened to the Bucs since Grilli’s injury in DC back in July, it could have been a lot worse. Melancon hasn’t been used as often as the closer mostly because we haven’t been leading in as many close games in the 9th inning. So, Mark should be feeling stronger. If Grilli can come back and be what he was in the first 3 months of the season we’ve got ourselves a great bullpen again.
The news about Grilli is nice to hear. Given all that has happened to the Bucs since Grilli’s injury in DC back in July, it could have been a lot worse. Melancon hasn’t been used as often as the closer mostly because we haven’t been leading in as many close games in the 9th inning. So, Mark should be feeling stronger. If Grilli can come back and be what he was in the first 3 months of the season we’ve got ourselves a great bullpen again.