Cole Tucker's return to Pirates opens up lineup options for Clint Hurdle
Clint Hurdle called the promotion of Cole Tucker to the Pittsburgh Pirates roster Friday “short-term help.”
And he was right.
Jose Osuna has four games remaining on his five-game suspension for his part in the July 30 brawl with the Cincinnati Reds. With Osuna starting his suspension Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels, the Pirates played that game — a 7-4 defeat — with two position players in reserve.
Without Tucker, it would have been three Friday in the first of a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park. Plus, Tucker is a switch-hitter, and the Cubs are throwing left-handers Jon Lester on Saturday and Jose Quintana on Sunday.
But could there be more to Tucker’s possible insertion into the lineup this weekend or Monday against the Washington Nationals? How about a future double-play combination of former first-round draft choices: Tucker at shortstop and Kevin Newman at second base?
Hurdle didn’t address the future, but he suggested Tucker/Newman could be an option for the middle of the infield in the short term.
“We get (Tucker) to shortstop. We can move Newman to second,” Hurdle said. “We have some opportunities for some deployment, versatile options after that.”
But for that to become a reality, Tucker must prove he can hit major-league pitching.
In his previous time in Pittsburgh from April 20-June 7, he hit only .196 with two home runs and nine RBIs. He was 7 for 14 with four doubles in his final six games, however, before returning to Triple-A Indianapolis.
In nearly 200 more plate appearances in Indianapolis before and after his time with the Pirates, Tucker hit .267 with eight homers and 27 RBIs.
Tucker gives the Pirates an athletically gifted shortstop who can get to groundballs in the hole or up the middle. Meanwhile, Newman, who started his 62nd game at shortstop Friday and has played 14 at second, is having a slightly better season at the plate than regular second baseman Adam Frazier.
Before Friday, Newman was hitting .304 with seven homers, 41 RBIs and a .775 OPS. Frazier’s numbers were .267/6/32/.715. But he also was third on the team with 24 doubles, one fewer than National League batting leader Bryan Reynolds. Newman has 14.
Tucker, 23, understands he has a lot to learn about major league pitching.
“(Kyle) Hendricks, Lester and Quintana have been in the big leagues for longer than I’ve been alive,” he said.
Adding the total years of service of the three Cubs starters this weekend (28), Tucker isn’t wrong.
“Playing at the highest level, pitchers kind of have an idea what they’re doing,” he said. “I’m just trying to learn what they’re trying to teach me and how they’re trying to attack me.”
He said the majors can be humbling.
“It’s also the coolest thing ever to be able to play at the highest level,” he said. “To be back here is super humbling as well because you know how hard it is to get here and how hard it is to stay here.”
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Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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