Pirates look to former college QB Anthony Alford for outfield help

After Anthony Alford goes through the protocols and joins the Pittsburgh Pirates, he’ll be part of a rotation in center field with Cole Tucker and Jason Martin, manager Derek Shelton said Sunday.

Alford, who was claimed off waivers Thursday from the Toronto Blue Jays, caught the eyes of Shelton and general manager Ben Cherington when both worked in Toronto.

“He’s unbelievably athletic. He’s explosive,” Shelton said. “He’s going to be a guy on the bases who’s going to be exciting. Once he gets moving, it’s fast and it’s powerful.”

Alford, 26, has played in parts of the past four seasons for the Blue Jays, with 11 hits in 71 at-bats (.155 average) in 46 games. He was 3 for 16 with a home run and three stolen bases this season.

“There are some things offensively we can work on, some things that, before we acquired him, we identified,” Shelton said. “The fact that I do have a little bit of history with him, (hitting coach) Rick (Eckstein) and I have already started to talk about it a little bit. It’s an electric body.”

Alford, 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, played college football at Southern Mississippi and Ole Miss. After the Blue Jays drafted him in the third round in 2012, he played both sports, spending his summers as a minor league baseball player.

At Southern Mississippi in 2012, he played quarterback and accounted for nearly 1,000 yards (664 passing, 329 rushing) and eight touchdowns (six through the air) for an 0-12 team. He played in only five games before he was suspended for his part in an on-campus fight.

He transferred to Ole Miss and moved to safety, but he gave up football midway through the 2014 season to focus on baseball.

In eight minor league seasons, Alford has 34 home runs, 114 stolen bases in 146 tries and a .265 batting average.

“He hits the ball hard. The ball comes off,” Shelton said. “We’re excited to get him in with our group and see how it plays out.”

Cherington had high praise for Alford on Sunday, speaking on his radio show on 93.7 FM.

“He was someone who was beloved by teammates and staff and someone you’d want to be in the room with,” Cherington said.

Shelton declined to say how he will use his center fielders. Martin started Sunday in Milwaukee.

“To say specifically what it’s going to be, I don’t know,” Shelton said. “It will depend on the day and who’s pitching and who we’re playing.”

A new dad

The Pirates will be without left fielder Bryan Reynolds for a few days after he left the team to be with his wife, who is ready to give birth.

“He called me about 5 o’clock this morning,” Shelton said. “Hopefully, he gets there in time.”

The Pirates try to avoid commercial flights these days, but Reynolds’ case is different.

“When you’re dealing with kids and being there for a moment of your life, we have to be a little more lenient,” Shelton said. “We’d like him to be there for the birth.”

Injury update

Shelton said injured pitchers Joe Musgrove and Mitch Keller are focusing their rehab on returning sometime during the second half of the season.

He said Musgrove (right triceps inflammation) will be re-evaluated when the Pirates return home Tuesday.

Shelton said it’s important for Keller (left oblique) to pitch over the final month.

“Getting him back into game action, regardless of what it is, is extremely important not only for this year, but building forward next year,” Shelton said. “Not only for his confidence of coming back on the mound and pitching this year, but just for us accruing more innings going into next year.”