Morning Rundown: Ji-Hwan Bae Recalled, Jared Triolo Optioned, Termar Johnson Day-To-Day
With his rehab assignment over, the Pirates brought back Ji-Hwan Bae back, deciding to option Jared Triolo to Indianapolis, plus they get good news back on Termarr Johnson.
The more that Ji-Hwan Bae played with Indianapolis, the more it became clear that it was only a matter of time before he returned to Pittsburgh.
In just eight games in Triple-A, Bae had slashed .344/.462/.531, registering four extra-base hits among the 11 total he got. He showed his signature speed throughout, swiping two bags and scoring on a little league home run as well.
So, it wasn’t too much of a surprise he is back with the Pirates, but Jared Triolo being the roster casualty was a shocker, at least only on the surface.
Triolo has been, almost exactly what was expected of him. He’s played fantastic defense, but for someone who is striking out 30.7% of the time, you would probably want to see a lot more power in his bat.
That’s just never been his game, however. Between 2021 and 2022 only Endy Rodriguez picked up more hits in the Pirates’ system than Triolo, he’s just never been one to hit for a lot of power.
There may be a little more there, as he did have wrist surgery at the beginning of the season, and that’s something that historically takes longer to return 100% from, at least power wise.
In the meantime, Bae gives the Pirates another center field option to give Jack Suwinski some more time off should they decide that with him struggling as of late. Three left-handed options (adding in Josh Palacios) seems a little less ideal, but it does add a little spark to the lineup in a different way.
It looks like Termarr Johnson escaped anything serious, as Alex Stumpf reported imagining came back negative on his left hand and is considered day-to-day right now.
The Pirates first round pick from 2022 doesn’t have the prettiest stat line in High-A currently, but is still showing his patented strong approach at the plate, and is hitting the ball hard (had a home run in three straight games) lately.
A couple of other minor league moves yesterday, one of which Norkis Marcos being released. He bounced on and off the roster along with the development list this year with the Curve, picking up three hits in 26 at-bats this season in Double-A.
Right-handed pitcher Junior Thibo was placed on the 7-day injured list. Pitching for Greensboro this year, he had a 4.42 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 38.2 innings pitched.
Luis Hernandez was placed on the Development List. The 22-year-old has spent most of the season bouncing on and off the DL, like Marcos. He’s played for three of the four full season teams this year, skipping over Altoona.
Minor League Recap 8/18
Indianapolis Indians - 5 vs St. Paul Saints - 8
Top Hitter - Chris Owings: 1-3, R, 2 RBI, BB, HR (10)
Top Pitcher - Rob Zastryzny: 1.1 IP, 3 K
Altoona Curve - 1 vs Bowie Baysox - 3
Top Hitter - Joe Perez: 2-4
Top Pitcher - Jackson Wolf: 5 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 K
Greensboro Grasshoppers - 5 vs Bowling Green - 3
Top Hitter - Wyatt Hendrie: 1-3, R, 3 RBI, HR (5)
Top Pitcher - Thomas Harrington: 7 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 8 K
Bradenton Marauders - 0 vs Lakeland Flying Tigers - 9
Top Hitter - Mitch Jebb: 0-3, BB, SB
Top Pitcher - Jorge Ramos: 2.2 IP, 2 BB, 2 K
FCL Pirates - 4 vs FCL Orioles - 2
Top Hitter - Javier Rivas: 2-3, 2B, BB
Top Pitcher - Carlson Reed: 3 IP, H, 3 K
Just a community service announcement. A new podcast episode was dropped with Nola, Ethan, and Cody. They discussed a way to early look at the upcoming rule 5. The discussion paired well with my morning coffee here this morning.
Jared Triolo has averaged 3.1 WAR / 162 games per Baseball Reference
That’s already really good
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/triolja01.shtml