Notes: RHP Mears called up; GM on staff

PITTSBURGH -- With their bullpen depleted by injuries and overworked due to short starts and long games, the Pirates added a fresh arm to their roster before Saturday’s game against the Tigers.

Pittsburgh selected the contract of right-hander Nick Mears and optioned struggling lefty reliever Miguel Del Pozo to the club’s alternate training site in Altoona, Pa. Less than two years after signing as a non-drafted free agent out of Sacramento City College, Mears made it to the Majors.

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While Mears’ story is remarkable and his upside is intriguing, the Pirates had to make Saturday’s roster move out of necessity. They sent six different relievers to the mound after Steven Brault was unable to record an out in the fifth inning of their 17-13 loss to the Tigers on Friday night. That included right-hander Dovydas Neverauskas, who they had hoped to avoid using.

So out went Del Pozo, who gave up a hit or walk to 15 of the 25 batters he faced over his first five appearances, and in came Mears, who made his Major League debut in Saturday’s 11-5 loss to the Tigers. In one inning pitched, he gave up a hit and a run while walking three batters and striking out two.

“We’re in a challenging stretch here with the pitching, obviously,” general manager Ben Cherington said Saturday afternoon. “The added layer this year is that it’s different than normal to acquire pitchers from outside the organization and get them in because of the protocol and testing, so there’s a lag with that. So that’s why we’ve gone to the Altoona group primarily to support the pitching staff.”

The Pirates hope to add a more proven arm to the back end of their bullpen soon, as closer Keone Kela is working his way back from the COVID-19 related injured list. Kela threw a live batting practice session on Saturday afternoon, and Cherington reported that he looked good and felt good coming off the mound. The club has not yet decided if Kela will face hitters again before joining the active roster.

“Would expect that he’s getting closer for sure, but no determination on that yet,” Cherington said.

The Pirates don’t have many other Major League-ready relief options waiting at their alternate training site. Right-hander Tyler Bashlor, acquired from the Mets last Sunday, has thrown a few bullpen sessions and should get more game-like work in Altoona soon, Cherington said. The Pirates want to make sure Bashlor is in game shape before adding him to their big league bullpen mix.

Right-hander Blake Cederlind, who had a strong showing in Spring Training, is “probably a little bit behind Bashlor” in terms of his readiness, Cherington said, because of the time he missed in Summer Camp following a positive test for COVID-19. The Pirates are playing it safe with the hard-throwing right-hander, especially in light of the pitching injuries they have seen throughout baseball and on their staff.

“Given the pitcher he is, and relying on velocity, we want to make sure he’s given the time to build up arm strength appropriately and he’s recovering well,” Cherington said. “So, we would expect it’ll be a little longer on Blake, but he’s headed in the right direction.”

Around the horn
• Cherington, who visited the Altoona camp on Thursday, said third-base prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes is fully participating in all on-field activities and taking part in simulated games. Hayes, the Pirates’ second-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, missed the club’s Summer Camp workouts due to COVID-19.

• The injuries to the Pirates’ big league pitching staff have also affected their workouts in Altoona. Cherington said they don’t have enough pitching available to play nine-inning games at Peoples Natural Gas Field, which limits the number of live at-bats their position players can take to stay sharp.

“We’re certainly encouraging the staff to be creative with using the [high-velocity pitching] machine,” Cherington said. “It’s a little bit different, but that’s the best they can do. From a morale standpoint, it seems very good. [Triple-A manager Brian Esposito is] doing a really good job. Energy’s good. Energy seems to be good. Guys are into it. Generally, when guys have come over, we’ve felt like they’ve been physically prepared to come into games and compete.”

• Cherington said he is “optimistic but not certain” that there will be some organized player-development activities later this year for Minor Leaguers who aren’t at the club’s alternate training site.

“It’s still a topic, a priority amongst teams in the league. It’s also something that we know is much more likely to happen with confidence about the [Major League regular] season,” Cherington said. “I think the thing that will help us the most is a lot of negative tests and regular-season games being played. So I’ll root for a good, healthy stretch of those.”

In the meantime, Pirates officials have been working with their prospects to develop remote training programs specific to each player’s needs.

“With pitching, making sure that our guys -- wherever they are -- that there is a certain throwing volume that they’re following week to week, a certain number of times getting off the mound, trying to simulate innings the best we can. Same with hitters, trying to make sure that they’re getting some sort of at-bat activity as much as we can, defensive reps,” Cherington said. “It’s not the same, no question. But that’s the best alternative we have now, and I remain hopeful that there will be more of that more formally at some point in 2020.”