Lefty Dillon Peters could be close to returning to Pirates after another rehab appearance
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Dillon Peters could be close to returning to the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the left-handed reliever will be reassessed after he makes another scheduled pitching appearance on his rehabilitation assignment for Triple-A Indianapolis.
After making two appearances at Double-A Altoona, Peters pitched a scoreless inning Monday against the Iowa Cubs in his season debut for Indianapolis. He has been out since June 6 with a low back strain.
“We’ll see how he comes out of that and will continue to have conversations with Ben, Shelty and staff about what the next steps after after that are for him,” Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said, referring to general manager Ben Cherington and manager Derek Shelton.
The Pirates also will be keeping close watch on two position players on rehab assignments at Indianapolis, shortstop Kevin Newman and outfielder Jake Marisnick. Newman is recoving from a groin/hamstring strain, while Marisnick had surgery on his left thumb.
“They continue to respond to the demands of the game,” Tomczyk said. “No issues with Jake’s thumb, no issues with Kevin’s lower half. So all things are heading in the in the right direction for those individuals. …
“I know there’s daily conversations with Derek and Ben and the coaching staff of what the next steps are. They’re getting a lot of good work, and they’ve missed significant time. There wasn’t a magic number of plate appearances or games They want to make sure they feel good to come back up here and feed themselves and compete.”
In other Pirates injury news:
• Outfielder Greg Allen, who injured his hamstring in the final week of spring training and re-aggravated the injury, began a rehab assignment with the Bradenton Marauders on Wednesday.
Tomczyk said Allen is expected to spend seven to 10 days with Bradenton. Depending on how he responds, he will eventually be transferred to Indianapolis before joining the Pirates.
“He’s worked his tail off,” Tomczyk said. “Unfortunately, had a couple of setbacks but very confident that he’s in a really good position to begin playing and hopefully be a Pirate and contribute up here at some point.”
• Right-handed relievers Blake Cederlind and Max Kranick continue to recover from Tommy John surgery at Pirate City in Bradenton, and righty reliever Nick Mears has been transitioned to Florida.
Mears had a setback with a forearm injury but is expected to play catch over the next couple of days before building up to return to competition.
• Altoona second baseman Nick Gonzales is expected to remain in a walking boot for another five-to-seven days. Outfielder Matt Gorski, who has 23 home runs and 60 RBIs split between High-A Greensboro and Altoona, was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
“He sustained a quad injury that’s going to require a bit of a rehab,” Tomczyk said. “This is not a not a long-term concern for his career, but not a short-term injury. So you’re probably looking at anywhere from six to eight weeks before he returns the competition, but no surgery is indicated.”
• Tomczyk said outfielder Lonnie White, the No. 64 overall pick out of the Competitive Balance Round B last year, “continues to work through some challenges with the body and he is still rehabbing” but is not expected to require surgery.