Pirates No. 1 pick Termarr Johnson shut down from spring training with right hamstring strain | TribLIVE.com
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Pirates No. 1 pick Termarr Johnson shut down from spring training with right hamstring strain

Kevin Gorman
| Wednesday, February 22, 2023 1:45 p.m.
Courtesy of Pittsburgh Pirates
Pirates infielder Termarr Johnson takes part in a spring training workout Feb. 15, 2023, at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla.

Termarr Johnson, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ first-round pick and one of their top prospects, has been shut down from spring training after straining his right hamstring.

The 18-year-old second baseman was selected No. 4 overall in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Atlanta’s Mays High School and signed to a $7 million bonus last July. Ranked the Pirates’ top prospect by Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs and MLB Pipeline and No. 2 by Baseball America, Johnson is the youngest player in major-league camp.

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Johnson, who left practice early Tuesday, will be “withheld from all baseball activities for 10 to 14 days,” after which the club will reassess to determine the next steps.

• Tomczyk said right-handed reliever Robert Stephenson is dealing with self-reported “minor elbow discomfort” and on a modified throwing program, throwing 105 to 110 feet. Stephenson is expected to throw a side session or off a mound sometime next week.

“It was more precaution than anything,” Tomczyk said.

• Tomczyk said the Pirates are taking precautions with first baseman/designated hitter Ji-Man Choi, who underwent surgery last fall to remove bone chips from his right elbow.

“We’re taking him extra slow, to his chagrin at times,” Tomczyk said. “We want to make sure he’s ready to go for the Cincinnati Reds and the full season.”

• Right-handed starter Max Kranick, who underwent Tommy John surgery June 3, is in camp with the Pirates and throwing 60-75 feet four to five days a week.

“There was a very strategic plan with the medical performance team, notably with Max, knowing he will be here for the long haul throughout the season,” Tomczyk said.

• Righty reliever Blake Cederlind has returned from Tommy John surgery and is practicing in the afternoons at Pirate City to prepare for the minor-league camp. Cederlind was touching triple digits on his fastball before the elbow injury.

“He looks good. He looks healthy,” Tomczyk said. “The arm action is where it was when he was in the big leagues. Really optimistic that he is going to have a healthy year and see where it goes.”

• Tomczyk said the response of the Pirates’ medical and training staff to the cardiac arrest of Ernie Withers was “reaffirming” of the team’s preparations for a medical emergency and that he was “extremely gratified” that Withers survived and was stabilized.

Withers, 68, of Bradenton, collapsed while shagging flies in the outfield at Roberto Clemente Field on Tuesday morning. Pirates medical director Dr. Patrick DeMeo performed CPR on Withers with the help of lead team physician Todd Franco.

“Proud to work with a medical group that acted so quickly,” said Tomczyk, who assisted in the response. “Reassuring, gratifying — a lot of adjectives come to mind. Just grateful and proud to be a teammate with highly competent medical professionals.”


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