There are some injury notes from the local media regarding two Pittsburgh Pirates prospects and starting pitcher JT Brubaker.
JT Brubaker is dealing with elbow/forearm discomfort and manager Derek Shelton said that he will likely begin the regular season on the injured list.
JT Brubaker dealing with right elbow/forearm discomfort. Derek Shelton said he’ll more than likely start the year on the IL.
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) March 27, 2023
Alex Stumpf has updates on third baseman Jared Triolo and outfielder Lonnie White Jr, and neither is good.
Some more injury notes from the Pirates: Lonnie White Jr. had surgery on his left thumb after sliding into second base. 7-9 week return to play projection.
Jared Triolo will have surgery on his hamate in the coming days. There will be a better timeline on return after procedure.
— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) March 27, 2023
Triolo will require hamate surgery. His return time is unknown at this point. He ended the 2022 season on the injured list with a knee injury.
White Jr, who has barely played since being drafted in 2021, had surgery on his left thumb. He will be out for approximately 7-9 weeks, barring any recovery setback. He had an upper body and lower body injury at the same time last year, preventing him for doing any type of baseball activities for quite some time, then his return amounted to two games in late July before he was injured again. He came to camp healthy this year, but was just recently hurt during a game.
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball.
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.
A very tough situation for a kid having a stellar ST. For Comparison –
2022 ST 8IP, 4.50 ERA, 4 BB, 8 K
2023 ST 17 IP, 5.19, ERA, 3 BB, 26 K
Hope for the best that being shut down for awhile will help avoid TJ.
Goodby JT, see you again in 2 years.
White can’t buy a break.
No he gets his breaks for free!
How was he ever going to play D-1 football? It sounds like,he,may be short cutting his workouts. Just sayin, he seems like a responsible person. I hope he can overcome all his, injuries, looks like a promising prospect.
Really tough news for Bru. It was looking like he might establish as a ML starter for years to come. At least there is depth to fill his spot, and it may result in one of the young guys getting up here and showing what they can do sooner.
I’ve never seen White play, so I don’t know if he has a hard-charging football mentality on the field that leads to injuries or if he’s just prone. But playing football sure wasn’t going to work out for a guy this brittle.
And a real bummer for Triolo who is on the doorstep, albeit a very packed doorstep.
Agree, esp for the young guys.
I always knew that VV was meant to replace Brubaker
White should have gone to Penn State. He seems to be hurt more then the entire organization of players. Keep the faith; he may play eventually and do well.
Brubaker is going to have TJ surgery, why are they sugar coating it.
Probably because it’s not confirmed that he’s going to have it yet? Unless you are inside the org and know for sure right this minute
Hope I am wrong but time will tell.
Eeesh – how much did White get signed for?
1.5 mil, even if he always has the injury bug that is absolutely a gamble we need to make 100/100 times
True. The injuries are especially unfortunate for him because he was really raw to begin with and needs the reps. If he doesn’t stay healthy and show some improvement this year, I have a hard time thinking he’s gonna make it anywhere.
It had been a relatively low injury impact spring so far for the Bucs. Let’s hope the Brubaker injury isn’t as serious as it sounds. It’s always maddening to athletes to have injury after injury like White. Baseball, like all other sports, is not easy on the body.
Lonnie White- jeeze. Good thing he didn’t play football.
Malone and White make Davis look good.
How true! He’s no iron man.
Boy I hate it when a pitcher gets “elbow/forearm discomfort”….that never seems to end well….
And just like that, Oviedo makes the OD roster and gets a spot in the rotation.
Lonnie White must have been born under a bad sign. If it wasn’t for bad luck, he wouldn’t have no luck at all. (Props to Albert King).
I like the Cream version, too
Best wishes for a speedy recovery for all 3. Bru looked like a legit, big league #3 starter in ST – I hope it’s a minor speed bump here.
It’s the Bucs, so what are the chances of that?
Tommy John…