The Pittsburgh Pirates placed catcher Henry Davis on the 10-day injured list Sunday with inflammation in his left hand and selected the contract of outfielder/first baseman Billy Cook from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Davis has been dealing with the hand injury since the series at the Chicago Cubs.
“It doesn’t seem to improve,” Shelton said. “I think the unfortunate thing for Henry is, because of the fact that he’s been dealing with this, he hasn’t been able to get a ton of work in. It’s unfortunate when he’s trying to have major-league at-bats and the only swings or at-bats you’re having are during the game. I think that’s when we thought it was a situation like, ‘OK, we need to make sure that we get him healthy so he can work on the things that he’s supposed to work on.’”
In Cook, the Pirates added a player with some pop as he hit a grand slam for Triple-A Indianapolis in a 9-4 win over Toledo on Saturday. Cook had seven RBIs in his past two games before his promotion. Cook did pregame work at first base with Pirates bench coach Don Kelly and will make his major league debut at that position Sunday against the Washington Nationals at PNC Park.
The Pirates acquired Cook from the Baltimore Orioles at the July 30 trade deadline in exchange for right-handed pitcher Patrick Reilly. Cook, 25, is ranked as the Pirates’ No. 24 prospect by MLB Pipeline. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder batted .276/.389/.486 with seven doubles, five home runs and 21 RBIs in 30 games at Indianapolis after hitting 15 doubles, 11 homers and 43 RBIs in 70 games at Triple-A Norfolk in the Baltimore system.
“We always liked the defense. He can play all three outfield spots, including center field, at an above-average level, we believe,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday on his weekly radio show on 93.7 FM. “He’s in there at first base today, so he’s a really versatile player. He’s an athlete. He’s a baseball player. He can run a little bit. He’s got some power.
“We saw improvement this year in swing decisions, cutting strikeouts down a little bit as he went from Double-A up to Triple-A. He’s just a player who seems to be coming into his game and improving. He’s just a baseball player, a really smart, heady, hard-working baseball player who’s got a good way about him. We’re excited that he’ll get an opportunity here, get a little exposure to the major leagues.”
In other roster moves, Cherington said Endy Rodriguez will join Double-A Altoona on Tuesday and is expected to add catching to playing first base and designated hitter in his rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery. Also, right-handed pitcher Domingo German, who was designated for assignment Sept. 5, has been outrighted to Indianapolis.
