'It was a goal': Battling right hand injury, Pirates rookie RF Henry Davis returns from IL

When the Pittsburgh Pirates sent Henry Davis to Triple-A Indianapolis on a rehabilitation assignment to test the muscle strain in his right hand, he pulled a 407-foot home run on the first swing of his first at-bat.

Davis had no delusions that one swing would prove to the Pirates that he was ready to return, knowing he would be judged as much on how he recovered from game action as he would on his performance.

“I don’t have that pull yet,” Davis said, “but it did feel good.”

When the Pirates activated Davis on Friday — optioning infielder Vinny Capra to Indianapolis — the rookie right fielder was happy to be back at PNC Park in time for the weekend series against the New York Yankees.

“Obviously, it was a goal,” Davis said. “I didn’t know if I’d be able to when we first got the diagnosis. I worked really hard and want to thank the training staff and the people supporting me to get to play.”

Pirates rookie RF/C Henry Davis discusses his right hand injury and rehab assignment after being activated from IL. pic.twitter.com/FuUbyPvJfn

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) September 15, 2023

The injury affected his thumb and started to bother Davis to the point that he couldn’t grip a bat. After he went 0 for 12 over four games at the New York Mets and Minnesota Twins, the Pirates placed him on the 10-day injured list Aug. 21.

After receiving treatment from the Pirates’ medical and training staff, Davis began his rehab assignment Sept. 9. In four games at Indianapolis, he was 8 for 13 (.616) with a home run, two RBIs and five walks. The Pirates wanted Davis to concentrate on healing, so they didn’t have him play catcher during the rehab stint.

“He did a nice job on his rehab, which I think was important,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We wanted to go out and test it and make sure. Obviously he’s dealing with something in his hand, so it’s not going to be 100% from here on out. So I think we will monitor what his volume is and what he plays just to make sure that he can finish the season strong and finish the season healthy. But it’s nice to have him back.”

The key for Davis was to see how his hand responded the next day, which remains a concern.

“It’s actually been pretty frustrating, but it’s a good learning experience because there are times where something similar to this, I don’t think anybody’s dragging me out of the lineup,” Davis said. “So just learning and, really, gaining as much experience as I can with something like this and learning how to compete with it. I’ll do my best whatever it is, whether that’s a different response in the training room or your workday looking a little different. Whatever I have to do to help the team.”

It marked the third consecutive season since Davis was drafted No. 1 overall in 2021 that he’s had a season interrupted by injury. He played only eight games that year before being shut down by an oblique injury. Last year, Davis missed two months with a fractured left wrist.

Davis called them “totally different” injuries, in terms of pain tolerance.

“I mean, I broke a bone last year versus some stuff in my hand,” Davis said. “As I got more information, the more difficult part would not be the pain but the difficulty holding the bat. I don’t care if it hurts. The reason we shut it down was because it was hard to hold the bat. So (it was about) finding ways that we can combat that. How can I make it so I can compete and be in a place where I don’t have to think about it? That’s been the focus the past few weeks.”

Davis batted .213/.306/.339 with eight doubles, five home runs and 18 RBIs in 51 games after being promoted to the majors June 19. If his downtime taught him anything, it’s how much he wants to contribute to the Pirates’ success over the final 15 games of the season.

“It’s a challenge, and I think I’ll learn from it and it’ll make me a better player and teammate going forward, just finding ways to help your guys when you’re not on here,” Davis said. “I’ll do whatever I can.”