Morning Rundown: Dauri Moreta and Hunter Stratton update, Endy Rodriguez, Spencer Horwitz
Injury updates for a pair of pitchers, plus more info on Endy Rodriguez and Spencer Horwitz
Dauri Moreta is working his way back after undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing the entire 2024 season. While he’s in camp, he isn’t currently in a position to make the Opening Day roster with where he is at in his rehab.
According to Ben Cherington, Moreta won’t be facing live hitting during the early part of his rehab.
Cherington also gave an update on another reliever, Hunter Stratton. According to the Pirates General Manager, Stratton is near full health after missing the last part of the season due to a ruptured patella tendon.
Stratton is in camp as a non-roster player after being non-tendered during the offseason but resigning on a minor league deal.
After missing all but 11 minor league games while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Endy Rodriguez recently declared his arm ‘100%’, and Cherington added that the focus will be on getting him playing time behind the plate.
This creates an interesting dynamic in camp between the catchers on the 40-man, which I will explore further at a later date.
Early on in camp, the biggest news was that Spencer Horwitz would miss time after undergoing wrist surgery. Horwitz was acquired in an offseason trade that sent Luis Ortiz, Michael Kennedy, and Josh Hartle to the Cleveland Guardians.
Greg Macafee of DK Pittsburgh Sports had an opportunity to talk to the Pirates’ first baseman in this article here.
Support the site by becoming a paid member, and get access to all of our premium content, including our Top 25 list with complete player write-ups and video breakdowns, which come out weekly.
It will also give access to my player feature articles from on-site trips.
We have monthly and yearly plans available, with the latter costing an average of $4.16/month.
Fun article/concept at FG on teams leaking "we tried" on FAs (and the rare player like Tucker who is being auctioned off) to appease their fans, with this little blurb about our team:
"The White Sox, Marlins, Pirates, and Rockies are barely playing the same sport. They’re not competing for impact free agents and would never want their fans to get that impression, lest it raise expectations above their current level of negative infinity."
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/we-tried-tracker-alex-bregman-edition/
And since we know Bob won't spend for impact FAs, I'm glad we don't get phony "we tried" statements from the FO. I build up enough false hopes going into an offseason as it is.
Jakob Junis signed, elsewhere, which was disappointing... I recently looked him up after an NMR post that he was interesting and lingering around in free agency, then I became infatuated with him, maybe not infactuated, but curious and hopeful we may snag him... No such luck, back to my NFL draft prep🤷♂️