August 10: Marcano underwent successful surgery on August 9, as reported by Justice delos Santos of MLB.com. The utility player is expected to return to full baseball activities in nine to 12 months.
August 3: Pirates infielder Tucupita Marcano will undergo season-ending surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, team director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk announced yesterday (link via Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). A date for the surgery has not yet been set, as Marcano will need to wait for the swelling around the injury to subside before surgeons perform the necessary repair. The team had already placed Marcano on the 60-day injured list but had not yet divulged the full extent of the injury he’d suffered.
Marcano originally sustained the injury more than a week ago when running the bases in a game against the team that originally signed him out of Venezuela back in 2016: the Padres. The now-23-year-old Marcano was one of three prospects traded from San Diego to Pittsburgh in 2021’s Adam Frazier deal. Pirates center fielder Jack Suwinski and minor league righty Michell Miliano also went to the Bucs in that swap.
It’s been a tough couple years in the Majors for Marcano, who’s logged 397 plate appearances with the Pirates but mustered only a .221/.267/.334 batting line in that time. He’s fared quite a bit better in Triple-A, where he’s slashed .274/.359/.401 with 11 homers, 23 doubles, four triples and 16 steals in parts of three seasons (575 plate appearances). He’s also regularly posted excellent walk numbers and low strikeout rates in the minors, showing off the advanced approach and contact skills that surely appealed to the Pirates when acquiring him.
Marcano has played second base, third base, shortstop and both outfield corners for the Pirates in the Majors. The bulk of his professional innings have been split between the two middle infield spots. That’s become an increasingly crowded spot in Pittsburgh — hence the team’s deadline trade of Rodolfo Castro — with Oneil Cruz, Nick Gonzales, Alika Williams, Liover Peguero and Ji Hwan Bae all having reached the big league level.
Cruz and Bae are both on the injured list alongside Marcano at the moment, but the Bucs will have a crowded mix of options once the entire group is healthy in 2024. Cruz is slotted to be the everyday shortstop, so the competition for playing time really boils down to who’ll see the bulk of time at second base and who’ll claim some spots on the bench. In that sense, Marcano’s versatility is an advantage, but he’ll obviously need to hit more in the Majors if he’s going to carve out a long-term role on the club.
That’s one trade that Preller doesn’t get nearly enough flack for.
Yep. Not only for what they gave up, but there was no fit for Frazier and he ended up making the team worse, they collapsed and didn’t make the playoffs
Tucupita or not to recupita, that is the question
but just wait, AJ will be blamed for the ACL.
And ultimately it ended up being Suwinski for Kerrrrrrrr?
Venezuelans are known for having weak ACLs. This certainly isn’t a surprise.
Archie Bunker is that you?
Cheese has a tendency to turn moldy. This certainly isn’t a surprise.
Too bad it wasn’t both Shelton and Haines, the former allowed Keller to get hammered for 5 innings in last night’s game giving up 8 runs instead of going to his bullpen earlier and Haines because they only managed 6 hits, no b extra base hits while striking out 10 times
They both have to go
Do you have any evidence for this silly comment or are you just going off your extensive experience with Venezuelan pitchers? Because to me, it just looks like EVERY pitcher is getting TJ surgery these days.
still a top 15 name in all of baseball.
Would have loved to hear Harry Caray say his name: “Too-cuh-PEE-tuh Mar-CON-oh!”
Productive Outs-a$$ name.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I liked his energy and his style of play.
I’m hoping Bae is able to lock down 2B when he gets back, his speed plays.
agreed, or Center. Needs some work there yet but eventually he could cover all three outfield spots, at the same time.
not surprising seeing it in the game.
Really though the Middle infield out look for 2024 is Nick, O’Neil and Liover as of right now.
DYK semi but almost related: over the course of their careers… Cruz has a higher K/BB than Suwinski and Pedro Alverez? the K/PA isn’t that far off either. Cruz has other qualities but if Jack or Pedro struck out too much for you then O’Neil should too. GRANTED, sample size isn’t large enough to compare to another players entire career with certainty
J-Hey time
No reason. By all accounts from Phillies fans, he is on the downward slide of his career. Nice utility player but one thing the Pirates have is depth in the middle infield
I mean purely as a gimmick.
J-Hey is almost as popular as Cutch in Pittsburgh, and it would be great to see them both out there again.
Pirates season is a wash , tank mode operational
J-Hey can technically play all over
… technically.
and also I disagree about middle infield depth.
who the heck are you seeing out there?
Liover, Triolo, Alika…
Harrison might actually be an upgrade
Goku, from Castro, to Marcano, to Bae, to Williams…a lot of scrap. They have Triolo and Gonzales but I guess the idea is to give everyone and their grandmother a look
Castro is gone, marcano OFS, Bae hurt, Gonzales sent down
Bae is at Indy on a rehab assignment and might be back next week with Pittsburgh so someone will be sent down
Too bad it can’t be Haines
agreed that Bae changes the middle INF outlook a bit (I personally am not a fan of Bae as anything more than a pinch runner and defensive replacement)
Harrison can play 2B, 3B, RF and technically some 1B.
look overall tho, I’m not looking at this strategically..
this is admittedly a heart-warming gimmick that I’d like to see
I agree Goku. Josh brings experience and leadership to a club that the younger players need
Granted Cutch is a solid leader but losing the leadership of Santana and Hill probably hurts this team
exactly what I was thinking after losing Santana..
will also show the young guys that Pittsburgh will indeed praise players from a winning era.
lot of complications with opening a roster spot but definitely not impossible
I replied below accidentally
Let me add this idea:
Are the Pirates incredibly cheap or are they committed to this cycle of rebuild ? Or is it just incompetence
The point is, given what they must traded away—something we all understand—where are the hits and runs going to come from now? Cutch? An occasional Suwinski homer? Or Reynolds?
You mention Harrison, above
Two guys they could have gotten cheaply in the last couple days who are as good if not better than any of the young guys they have are Kolton Wong and Kyle Calhoun. Both would come on the cheap. Both are still relatively young.
I doubt the Pirates even noticed
The question is, why?
Neither would set the world on fire but both would be upgrades
It’s a joke, Goku, a never ending joke. I just can’t figure out whether it’s simple incompetence or incredible stinginess
Don’t forget 27 year old Vinny Capra who’s on the major league roster and hasn’t played a game since April
It has become my belief that they are both cheap and incompetent
Granted they signed both Reynolds and Hayes to long term contracts, the talks with Keller on a long term deal have broken down because he doesn’t want a team friendly contract
And I have no doubt that the rebuild we’ve come to expect will continue and with the same results that we’ve also grown to expect
Losing seasons
Cherington said recently that they are eager to make the Bucs a winning franchise but until they’re willing to spend money on player development and scouting, nothing will change
No- play the kids, need to see what we got
I still see this as the final stages of a rebuild.
the boys are all up. I’d start judging them based on next year.
even then I don’t see any major moves other than a potential Keller extension.
really need to get Skenes up and supplement the rotation, but sadly I don’t see a reason to sign longterm free agent vets until 2025
@goku
If things start going more to what we expected… they won’t need any long term vets position player wise. Pitching is a hot mess right now though. No one looks to be more than a mid rotation pitcher if that. But they have the talent. If they can get that talent to show a bit more.
Keller has been horrible since the end of May. He still has the stuff it just isn’t working.
Hoping Cutch comes back next year. He’s still got some baseball in him.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Harrison back to cover every where if you are going to have bench utility depth he is a good choice. I’d also like to see him get an inning at catcher.. just to be one of those few players that have played every position. He’s not going into the hall of fame but would be something he will be remembered for.. other than his base running crazyness He is a lot of fun to watch, though i havn’t watched much of him lately.
ya I’m down with the gimmicks at this point
and by longterm vets I pretty much did mean vet SPs to bail us out
Before I can have trust in the youngsters, they need to learn the strike zone
Called 3rd strikes is killing any potential offense. Hayes did it in yesterday’s game, with the bases loaded and on a 3-2 count
The pitch he didn’t move his bat on was clearly a strike
Connor Joe, with any luck will be looking for another team next year, he’s second on the team in ks while looking. It shouldn’t come as a surprise of who the team leader is, Suwinski
Cherington tried to give Keller an extension earlier this year but the pitcher refused to take a “ team friendly “ contract
He was given an offer
My beef even with the young players who’ve been playing for a few years at the major league level is their inability to make contact with the bat and on a regular basis
Coming back making his first start since April, in today’s game, Woodruff has struck out 7 of the first 9 Pirate players
Shelton’s circus like lineups make no sense and today’s game proves that
He sat the hottest player currently, Reynolds, in favor of Connor Joe who’s lousy with runners in scoring position, batting 2nd and isn’t that good against righties
@theman
To be fair… this was Bryan’s first ‘day off’ that there was a game on the schedule since the start of July. of course there was the AS Break and a couple days with out games. Still to your point.. he is on a role now.. seems dumb to take the hot bat out.
It kinda worked out with Joe scoring today.. Derek got lucky lol.
Um… I just got to the 8th inning in this game…. .. bryans bat is still hot lol
Poor guy
Derek Shelton 190-301 career record. Hall of Fame credentials. HE NEEDS FIRED IMMEDIATELY
The home plate umpire in tonight’s game must be related to Shelton. They both stink. Guy is calling strikes balls and balls strikes
Another start in which Keller is looking a lot like the guy whom we saw *before* last August. Troubling in that this is like 4 of his last 5 starts in which he’s been hit hard and hit early.
and once again Shelton misused his pitching staff by keeping Keller in for 5 innings and giving up 8 runs instead of going to the bullpen and using a pitcher who could go more than one inning
They need to have a long relief pitcher, and since Bido can’t ever get into the 4th inning during his starts he could be the long relief pitcher
Bring Ortiz back up and send down Williams.
I don’t get what Shelton is trying to gain by keeping starters in after they get rocked. Keller twice now. Priester. What’s the message?
And yeah, it’s funny that with Hill here, they still had what amounts to a “reliever game” with Bido. Now Hill is gone and really, unless they plan on starting the guy who came over in the Castro trade, they are now faced with two reliever games every 5 games?
108 games down, 54 to go
60 losses so far. They can’t possibly go 14-40 the rest of the way , uh, can they?
can they go 14 and 40 the rest of the way you ask?
With Shelton at the helm and the teams on the schedule like Atlanta, I’m wondering if they will win 14 more games
Considering they can’t beat the Brewers at Milwaukee they could easily go on a losing streak that cements them in the basement for the rest of the season
Yes, the Braves and Brewers, and a number of teams pushing to get into the playoffs like the Cubs, Reds and even Twins.
Amazing to think I believed they could win between 72-75. Amazing to think they started the season at 20-8
And it’s disturbing to think that Oviedo might be their only hope as a starting pitcher going down the stretch
I guess the W/L record should be secondary now as the young guys go through their struggles. Almost all have come down to earth and have miles to go before anyone looks at this team as being a “contender”
Corn…Shelton, the witless winless loser, doesn’t gain from his managerial blunders. As long as the front office condones and continues his employment. He’s going to impede the careers of the young buccos.
Last night, he’s playing Akira Williams at ss and pegeuro at second. Pegeuro should be at ss and Gonzalez at second. Shelton is an idiot
Exactly, Buuba. I get that Gonzales was struggling a bit. So is Davis. So is Endy. But to send him down and keep Williams here??? Agreed. Peguero should be at SS and Gonzales at 2nd
I’m not even convinced that Hayes is the better ball player than Triolo
What you see is what you get from Hayes. A light hitting good defensive player at 3rd base
He, like most of the younger players, swings too erratically and doesn’t draw a lot of walks
Triolo has a tendency toward hitting the ball in the opposite direction against both righties and lefties. He doesn’t have alot of power but neither does Hayes and historically the corner infielders have been the power hitters
On the Pirates the power comes from strikeout or homer Suwinkski
I think they like Willliams’ speed though he doesn’t get on base enough to try and steal bases
Which begs me to question why a team that struggles to score runs doesn’t play more small ball
Small ball is like hit and run, pinch hitting a lefty batter when a righty reliever comes into the game, intentionally walking a batter with 1st base open and less than two outs in a close, late inning game. In other words, things that qualify as “ old school” and ones that Shelton has never thought of
Williams is yet another guy who is essentially a bench player, if that.
Cruz coming back will hopefully solve a lot of problems, offensively at least, but there seems to be a pipeline where scrap from Indy is concerned
Shelton gets a pass from the losing I think because he has such a young inexperienced team
Yet for years I’ve been reading about the top prospects who will make a difference when they are promoted to the parent club and outside of Davis and Endy, I have yet to see any of these top tier prospects deliver at the major league level
Some are here out of convienence due to the trading of one year contracted players
If Hill, Choi and Santana hadn’t been traded, many of these youngsters would still be in the minors.
In fact, and this is my personal opinion, I’d rather have kept all three for the rest of the season
At least there was a better chance of not losing 100 games which I now believe they will easily accomplish this year
Exactly what I’ve been saying for months. There are those who wish to get excited about the guys on the farm. Well, prove it. Other than Cruz and to a lesser extent so far, Davis and Endy, there is nothing to be excited about here
And yes, they could have simply done the Castro deal and that would have been enough Instead, they have a huge hole in their pitching staff and a real problem scoring runs
And you’ve finally embraced what is the thinking behind Shelton. Losses aren’t the issue. Patiently allowing the kids to get acclimated is the key where the front office is concerned
Goku, their heartwarming gimmicks included signing Cutch and bringing up a 33 year old rookie this season
I liked J-Hay when he was here but if adding him means Triolo is sent back to the minors or his play is curtailed, no way. Again, I’m not sure Triolo isn’t as good as Hayes right now and potentially a better hitter
I’ve said this before and is worth repeating
Teams like the Dodgers and Braves have home grown talent that produce year after year, and usually pick lower in drafts because they have winning seasons
The Bucs on the other hand pick higher in the drafts yet fail to develop those picks into productive players
Cruz and Endy were both drafted by other teams, whereas Davis and Gonzalez were drafted by the Bucs
Yeah, we can repeat this until the cows come home and we are still going to get the comment that some of these guys came from under the Huntington regime. Truth is, I haven’t seen much from the current GM’s draft card but we’ll find out soon enough
But let’s take LA and Atlanta out of the argument. I’ll give Dream credit here for being right—good scouts and coaches don’t grow on trees and are likely in the employ of those types of teams. Let’s include TB too
But look at what’s coming through other farm systems Baltimore. Cincy. Arizona. Texas. It’s not rocket science to say they are drafting and developing differently
I realize again that I’m just repeating the things I’ve been saying for months. I don’t see anything changing here anytime soon but will defer to guys like mlb1225 and Buc, who say that big time arms are coming through the system. Hope is all we have here, to go with perhaps yet another 100 loss season. Soon enough, we’ll be wondering which retreads they’ll be signing in the off season, only to flip for more prospects a year from now. It’s a never ending cycle
Time to focus on the Steelers
I used Atlanta and the Dodgers just as examples but you’re correct Cornwhisperer, teams like the Orioles, Reds, Rangers and Diamondbacks are competitive this year because they have been successful at player development
How many wins for the Steelers this season?
An analyst today said this is the best Steelers team they’ve had here in some time. But who knows? So much depends on Kenny’s growth and so much of that depends on an OC who’s been inept over the past couple seasons, at best
I’m going with 10 wins. If that allows them to get into the playoffs, it’ll be a positive season.
The Steelers success also depends on the offensive plays Canada makes during the games
He’s, in my opinion, the equivalent to Shelton’s decisions on the Bucs. Neither are strong leaders and both make ridiculous decisions offensively
Red Shelton is at it again. Still playing icrumbum Williams at ss. And now playing a 27 year old retread, capra, and not frank, at 2b. Neither of these retreads are the future. But yoyo Shelton keeps pulling lineups out of a hat. Damn, I hate Shelton as much as I hate dRUmp
We both hate the same people, Buuba. There’s no rational reason why Shelton put Capra in the lineup last night, he’s not part of the future and actually should be at Indy with Gonzalez up with the team
The few positives from last night’s game
Reynolds is finally driving the ball and has regained his power
Davis snapped out of his 0 for 23 slump
Rivas looked good collecting 3 hits including a 3 run homer
And we didn’t lose
Suwinski is in another one of his slumps which has become a regular issue this year
Man you hit it right on. I actually didn’t know Gonzalez got sent down. I can see how the national media laughs at Shelton and his twin Haines. Just like the media laughs at the Steelers OC matt Mexico. All three must be related to keep their jobs. Puzzles me how. I’d like to play bang the gopher head with these three idiots.
The reason according to Shelton as to why Gonzalez was sent back to Indy was because he’s in a slump
Using that excuse Suwinski should be at Indy learning how to hit lefties
Well if that’s the reason he got demoted. Then Shelton should have been fired two years ago. This guy couldn’t manage a fantasy baseball team. I’m losing patience very fast
Five consecutive strike outs for Woodruff against the Bucs
2 from 3rd while looking, of course one being the runner up for the most on the team, Connor is Joe and the team’s overall leader, Suwinkski, who now has 107 and is currently in a 0 for 21 slump
What is the over/under on how many times Suwinski strikes out today?
He did so 3 times in last night’s game bringing his season total to 124
Good All around player. Stay healthy.