Pirates place Cole Tucker on 7-day concussion injured list after fall at Cincinnati stadium
The Pittsburgh Pirates placed outfielder Cole Tucker on the seven-day concussion injured list Thursday after he slipped and hit his head on a concrete floor at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park.
“Obviously, any time you have something like that, it’s precautionary,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “It’s just better off that he go on the concussion IL.”
The Pirates recalled infielder/outfielder Jose Osuna from their alternate training camp in Altoona. Osuna had accompanied the team on its road trip as a member of the taxi squad.
Tucker started in center field in the 1-0 loss to the Reds on Wednesday night, going 0 for 3, but was replaced in the middle of the eighth inning when the Pirates used Bryan Reynolds to pinch-hit for catcher John Ryan Murphy. Reynolds replaced Tucker in center.
Shelton said the incident occurred in the tunnel below the ballpark.
“It didn’t happen during the game,” Shelton said. “He slipped underneath, his spikes gave out and he hit his head.”
Tucker is the second Pirates player to go on the concussion IL this season. Colin Moran went on the seven-day IL on Aug. 27, after a collision on the first-base line with Avisail Garcia of the Milwaukee Brewers.
A 2014 first-round pick, Tucker switched from shortstop to the outfield during training camp in July. He is batting .220 with three doubles, one home run and eight RBIs in 37 games this season.
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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