Pirates' Clint Hurdle: Rookie Davis will be 'in mix as a starting pitcher'
BRADENTON, Fla. — Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said right-hander Rookie Davis, who signed a minor league contract Monday, “will be in the mix as a starting pitcher.”
The 6-foot-5, 255-pound Davis, who was 1-3 with an 8.63 ERA in 2017 with the Cincinnati Reds, will create a four-way competition for the fifth spot in the starting rotation with right-handers Nick Kingham and Jordan Lyles and lefty Steven Brault.
“He’s one of those guys (who) throughout his career developed a starter’s mentality,” Hurdle said of Davis. “We’ll see what role presents itself. He’s going to be in the mix as a starting pitcher. … We’ll see where he is when he gets here, not trying to force anything.”
Davis pitched only 26 1/3 innings across three levels of the minors last season while recovering from hip surgery and various other injuries.
“He’s been working extremely hard this offseason, feels like some very valuable lessons learned,” Hurdle said. “He was looking for an opportunity to compete on a team that was moving, he thought, in a good direction and was going to play in some meaningful games, had a chance to win big games.”
Hurdle said he talked with Davis by phone Sunday and expects him to join the team in practices once he passes his physical. The Pirates also announced Tuesday they voided the contract of right-hander Roberto Gomez because of concerns that arose out of his physical.
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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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