BRADENTON (93.7 The Fan) - It's a Tale of Two Shoulders as the Pirates prepare for their final Grapefruit League game before their first day off since players and coaches reported to Bradenton.
After we had left LECOM Park and after Derek Shelton had spoken to reporters before the Blue Jays rematch in Dunedin, the club announced that Steven Brault - in the running for the final spot in the rotation - will be shut down due to a left shoulder muscle strain. He will be reassessed in two weeks and will remain with the ballclub but this clearly will affect his chances of not only making the rotation.
Brault had pitched twice so far, throwing a shutout inning against the Phillies on Feb 23rd then allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, 3 strikeouts and no walks in an inning-and-a-third versus the Orioles 5 days later.
Before we had departed Bradenton, veteran RHP Tom Koehler announced his retirement. The 33-year old Koehler had signed with the Bucs last year after taking 2018 off following shoulder surgery. Koehler spent parts of 6 seasons in the majors, mostly with the Marlins, before finishing the 2017 season in Toronto.
Koehler made his first appearance last year in the Gulf Coast League, moved up to West Virginia for two games then made a final outing in Altoona August 16th before shutting hit down.
He was hoping more rehab over the winter would work and he had thought it did. "The toughest part is that when I came to spring I felt great," the affable Koehler sighed, "The first two bullpens it was, like, yeah he's back but then after live batting practice it was exactly the opposite."
"It's tough to pitch when you can throw a ball," lamented.Koehler who finished with a career record of 36-55, 0-4 against the Pirates.
His first order of business is to help coach his daughter's softball games but certainly sounds like he's leaning toward to staying in the game in some capacity, maybe in a front office role, possibly as a coach or manager but he's not crazy about "riding the busses in the minors."
He is in a walking boot after suffering a right foot fracture.
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