PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said all is going well with Ke’Bryan Hayes and they expect him to start a rehab assignment soon.
“Given the amount of time missed, we are going to build in a rehab assignment for him,” said Pirates general manager Ben Cherington on 93.7 The Fan and the Pirates Radio Network. “We have started to map that out. We will get with Ke’Bryan on that. We hope that it would start in the next several days as the team gets out on a road trip.”
Hayes out since the second game of the season in Chicago with a wrist injury. He has fielded ground balls and thrown for over a week with the major league team before games.
“In fairness to him, we have to give him a chance to play a fair amount,” Cherington said. “So he will get some minor league games under his belt just to build back up.”
“It’s not just the wrist at this point. It’s just making sure the body is conditioned to play nine inning games again. We will give him a chance to play a good chunk of minor league games and hopefully that starts not too long from now.”
A similar story for right-hander Chad Kuhl, out with right shoulder soreness since April 18. Cherington said he will go on a rehab assignment soon after throwing a simulated game on Thursday and a side session on Saturday.
“Given the time missed and the importance of a starter and getting the pitch count back up,” Cherington said. “We want to give him the chance to face hitters. He is going to spend some time with Indy and expect to see him before too long.”
There is a chance 1B Colin Moran and INF/OF Phillip Evans could return without a rehab assignment. Moran has started to field ground balls and they will know more in the coming days.
Moran went on the 10-day injured list on May 9 with a groin injury. Evans went on the 10-day IL on Thursday with a left hamstring strain.