The Pittsburgh Pirates placed closer Keone Kela on the 10-day injured list and corner infielder Colin Moran on the seven-day concussion IL on Thursday.
Both moves are retroactive to Aug. 24.
Kela has been out with right forearm inflammation since leaving the Aug. 21 game against the Cleveland Indians in the ninth inning after throwing just five pitches.
“He has not thrown yet, so that’s what made us make the decision on that,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We tried to give it as much rest as possible, and he has not thrown yet, so we decided to put him on the IL.”
Moran, who leads the Pirates with six home runs and an .857 OPS, has been experiencing concussion-like symptoms since Sunday after a collision at first base with Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Avisail Garcia.
“We’re going to continue to monitor them,” Shelton said. “We need healthy bodies. Colin, with the concussion, needs to be on the protocol. With ‘Ke,’ it just hadn’t gone as fast as we had thought, in terms of throwing, so it’s just getting a healthy body.”
The Pirates recalled two players from their taxi squad: right-handed pitcher Nick Mears (0-0, 5.40 ERA), who has allowed two runs in three relief appearances this season, and first baseman Will Craig, a 2016 first-round pick who hit 23 home runs last season in Triple-A Indianapolis and had 102 RBIs at Double-A Altoona in 2018.
Shelton said the Pirates chose Mears over Blake Cederlind, also on the taxi squad, because Cederlind threw a live batting practice on Wednesday.
Craig will make his major league debut when he starts at first base and bat ninth for the Pirates in the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader at the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Pirates also claimed outfielder Anthony Alford, 26, on waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays. Alford was designated for assignment on Aug. 20. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder batted .188 (3 for 16) with a home run and three RBIs in 13 games this season. In 46 games over four seasons, Alford slashed .155/.200/.254 with a double, two homers and five RBIs.
