The Pittsburgh Pirates have reinstated outfielder Starling Marte from the restricted list for Tuesday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers. To make room on the active roster Phil Gosselin was optioned to Indianapolis. The 40-man roster already had two openings, so not further roster move is necessary.
Marte last played for the Pirates on April 17th before he was suspended 80 games by MLB for PED use. He was batting .241/.288/.370 through 13 games at the time of his suspension.
Shortly after being suspended, Marte reported to Pirate City, where he played in a handful of Extended Spring Training games. He then stopped the games and was taking part in workouts for awhile until beginning his rehab assignment with Bradenton on July 2nd. He moved to Indianapolis, then back to Bradenton during the Triple-A All-Star break, before returning to Indianapolis, where he played until Sunday. In 12 games between the two levels, he hit .304/.360/.391. He is in the lineup batting lead-off tonight.
Gosselin has now had three stints with the Pirates this year, hitting .150/.190/.175 in 28 games. He played just four games this last time, going 1-for-3 with a walk.
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When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.
So the season starts tonight. wonder if that means anything for this team. I would rather a seller be then a buyer in this overpriced market. Lets hope they get back in it but the Cubs are the true power in this division and I don’t think the Pirates can match up with them. Hope I am wrong but they need to win the Central, as the wild card seems out of reach.
I am predicting the fall of the Rockies. The question is “Are we seeing the rise of the City of Bridges?”
Hopefully I’m wrong, but I’m expecting Marte to take a couple weeks of seeing ML pitching to be an effective hitter. Even if I’m right, his defense and base running will make him an upgrade.
wow all interstates on the gooses slash line.
I’ll take the controversial position that this move makes the Pirates a better team.
Somehow Moroff survives. Not that I think he’ll ever be an impact player but again, why doesn’t the Diaz needs to play logic apply to Moroff. They clearly don’t have much regard for Gossling so why send him down and keep Moroff on the bench? Someone tell me that Moroff is a better option than was Hanson. Not.
yes, moroff passed hansen yrs ago, better fielder and has way more power. and he takes full man swing when batting.
Hanson has had a stellar July batting .077…hears the moncada footsteps
Well comparing these guys is like comparing two varieties of plain yogurt. They might be slightly different but in the end, they are both plain yogurt. Nothing to write home about. The Pirates seems to have stocked up on a whole lot of plain yogurt.
Moroff has a consistent pattern of struggling each time he moves up a level. Given the fact the Pirates have to keep a backup shortstop it makes sense to keep him up despite the struggles. He was on pace to hit 30 hrs in AAA (second year) with solid 2B-3B defense. If he can put it together the way he has at each other level, he would be a nice addition.
Moroff is easily more reliable in the field than Hanson.
yup that what i said.
When he takes the bat off his shoulder, that is.
Here we go….. the biggest addition of anyone in the central.
Quintana? Marte is possibly the best of the rest.
I’ll rarely give the edge in impact/importance to a SP over a starting position player. Just my personal opinion, definitely could be wrong there.