Ke’Bryan Hayes is dealing with “general left wrist soreness,” an injury that caused the Pittsburgh Pirates to place the third baseman on the 10-day injured list to finish his rookie season.
Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk specified that while the injury is to the same wrist that forced Hayes to spend a 60-day stint on the injured list in April and May, it’s not as serious.
“It’s a different location on his wrist. It’s a different sensation,” Tomczyk said. “In April, he was dealing more with pain and true discomfort. Here, this is more general wrist soreness.”
Hayes did not play in an 8-6 win over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday at PNC Park, when Hoy Park played third base, and finished his first full season in the majors by slashing .257/.316/.373 with 20 doubles, six home runs and 38 RBIs in 96 games. The Pirates filled Hayes’ roster spot by recalling right-handed pitcher Roansy Contreras, who will start Wednesday against the Cubs. Park is in the starting lineup at third base for the second consecutive game.
“With speaking to Key, Key wants to push through this. He wants to play,” Tomczyk said. “I think we as a medical staff are being ultra-conservative at this time. He wants to continue to power through this. It’s important because he wants to finish, and we want him to finish. So, if you want to point the finger at the bad guys, you can point it at the medical staff here because, again, not to repeat myself, we want him to go into the offseason as healthy as possible so he can continue to work on his training and continue evolve.”
In other Pirates injury news:
• Right-handed pitcher JT Brubaker (right shoulder strain) is eligible to come off the 10-day IL but won’t return this season. He is playing catch pain-free on flat ground, throwing out to 120 feet.
• Right-handed reliever Luis Oviedo, a Rule 5 Draft pick, saw his season come to an end when he was placed on the IL with a right shoulder strain.
Where Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Oviedo’s injury occurred while throwing long toss, Tomczyk said it’s something Oviedo has been dealing with “for a little bit of time.”
“We felt it was in Luis’ best interest to to hit a pause on throwing and get him in the best position to have a normal offseason,” Tomczyk said. “All of the exams, all the diagnostic tests that were performed on Luis show nothing out of the ordinary. So, encouraging news there, but, unfortunately, he’s not able to finish the season on the active roster.”
• Right-handed reliever Connor Overton also was placed on the 10-day IL with a “very, very minor and mild” right shoulder strain, which Tomczyk attributed to his throwing without a break since the start of the pandemic.
• Left-hander Dillon Peters (low back strain) has resumed playing catch, and the Pirates anticipate him needing three weeks of physical therapy before starting his offseason program.
