With shortstops Kevin Newman, Cole Tucker injured, Pirates preach patience in recovery

When two of the three players fighting for the same starting job end up seeing Pittsburgh Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk, he expects their competitive spirit to play a role in their recovery.

Tomczyk is counting on the relationships and trust he has built with shortstops Kevin Newman (hamstring) and Cole Tucker (thumb) to play a role in allowing their injuries to heal in spring training instead of rushing to return to Grapefruit League games.

“It’s all about the relationships you have with these individuals and the trust they have in you as a staff,” Tomczyk said. “Our intention as a medical and performance team is in the player’s best interest both short-term and long-term. Honesty is the No. 1 factor in building that relationship. Just give them our honest feedback. We include our doctors when we need to and give them both short-term and long-term expectations. And try to present them information to help them make the best decision for them. We don’t want to push anybody out there who’s not ready.”

So Tomczyk has been pleased with the progress of Newman and Tucker, a pair of former first-round picks competing with Erik Gonzalez for the starting job at shortstop.

Tucker has played only one game because of a contusion on his left thumb, which affects the switch hitter’s swing more than anything. Tomczyk said Tucker has resumed all hitting activities from both sides of the plate and is responding well to the volume of work and hopes to return to playing in a couple of days.

“That’s the thing about a competitive camp or camp in general: These guys need to be out there,” Tomczyk said. “Unfortunately, there are only two off days. With soft-tissue injuries, which is what a contusion is, unfortunately, it requires a little bit of rest. And rest is not in these players’ DNA. So that constant pounding that he was experiencing from batting was just causing this to linger a little bit longer than we’d all like. But he’s definitely making improvements and is on the mend.”

Newman left Sunday’s game against Baltimore as a precautionary measure when he felt tightness in his left hamstring. Tomczyk said Newman no longer feels the tightness and is “progressing very nicely.”

“The most important piece is the player,” Tomczyk said. “You build those relationships over time. You get to know what they feel and what they tell you they’re feeling. Kevin, in particular, he’s very attuned to his body. He does an outstanding job of preparation and training.

“This truly was not letting a little thing become a big thing. We still have three weeks to go in spring training here. We have a whole season of games. This is something that I would applaud Kevin and the staff for recognizing that, to pull himself out of the competition, although he does not want to be pulled out. He wants to continue to play. But in this instance, he’s not letting a little thing turn into a long-term injury.”

Tomczyk also addressed two pitchers who are on the 60-day injured list. He said left-hander Austin Davis (elbow) is throwing from about 90 feet on flat ground, and right-hander Jose Soriano is continuing his bullpen progression while recovering from Tommy John surgery.