Pirates activate Tucupita Marcano from covid-IL, DFA Yu Chang
After taking a timeout, Tucupita Marcano is back with the Pittsburgh Pirates. And Yu Chang ran out of time.
The Pirates made a pair of roster moves Thursday before the start of their three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park, activating Marcano from the covid-19 injured list and designating Chang for assignment.
The 22-year-old Marcano, who has played second base and left field, was batting .262/.318/.410 with three doubles, two home runs and five RBIs in 19 games before he was placed on the covid-IL.
“It’s nice to get Tucu back because he was on a good roll and then, unfortunately, I think we lost, what, 10 days because of it,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “It’s nice to have him back in the mix and his versatility.”
The Pirates acquired Chang from Cleveland because of his positional versatility — he played second base, first base and served as designated hitter in 18 games — but he batted only .167 (7 for 42) with one double, one homer and two RBIs and 18 strikeouts against four walks.
“With Yu, I think we just ran out of time,” Shelton said. “We’ve talked about a bunch of young kids that we have here and giving them playing time, and he ended up being the odd man out. When you’re the odd man out with no options, it ends up being a DFA.”
The Pirates have 38 players on their 40-man roster, but Shelton said right-handed reliever Duane Underwood Jr. isn’t quite ready to return. Underwood remains on a rehabilitation assignment with Double-A Altoona but returned to PNC Park between pitching outings.
“He most likely will have another outing in Altoona,” Shelton said. “It’s just the fact that he and (lefty Dillon) Peters pitched the day before yesterday in Altoona, and they’re doing their rehab stuff here because it’s so close.”
The Pirates also are avoiding placing closer David Bednar (back) on the 10-day injured list. The Pirates have rested Bednar for four days since he blew a ninth-inning lead in a 6-5 loss at Tampa Bay last Saturday. Shelton said Bednar “physically is in a much better spot” and was expected to throw before the Brewers game and be available Thursday.
Bednar made it clear he wants to stay off the IL.
“That’s not something that I’m looking for,” Bednar said. “I’m just taking it one day at a time. Ready to compete. Ready to roll.”
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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