While Yoshi Tsutsugo remains on the Pirates roster, things could start changing soon at first base. They certainly should.
Primarily because of Tsutsugo’s prolonged struggles, they’ve juiced a collective .639 OPS out of that position, which ranks 29th in MLB. Per FanGraphs, Pirates first basemen rank dead last in wins above replacement (-1.2).
It also represents a significant drop from where the Pirates stood in 2019, when Josh Bell helped them finish fourth with an .899 OPS. The Pirates were 16th in 2020 OPS (.765) and 27th a year ago at .693.
Not that Bligh Madris — who did show promise during a 15-game stint with the big club earlier this season — is the definitive answer, but it sounds like he’ll at least get a shot, a cracked door that could help solidify his major league career.
“I’ve just been putting in the work every day, trying to do whatever I can to help my career,” said Madris, a player the Pirates recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday before starting a four-game series against the Phillies.
The path to more playing time for Madris isn’t a straight line. He’s here now because Bryan Reynolds’ wife, Blair, gave birth to a baby boy on Wednesday morning, and Reynolds is on the paternity leave list. But offensive production in the outfield now could easily translate to more opportunity elsewhere later.
Say this about the Madrid-to-first storyline: The Pirates have seemingly been pushing it hard, with Madris having played there the past five games at Triple-A.
It’s a spot he played some in college at Colorado Mesa and somewhere Madris is at least marginally comfortable. The biggest part lately has been learning situations and when to be where.
“It speeds up a little bit at this level,” Madris said, “so just getting back to it.”
A 26-year-old ninth-round pick in 2017, Madris hit .259 with a .693 OPS in 54 at-bats across those 15 games, walking twice and striking out 18 times in 56 plate appearances. His previous stint included exclusively outfield work.
Madris, who became the third player in team history to record a hit, RBI and stolen base in his MLB debut when he did so on June 20, was hitting .296 with 16 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 24 RBIs in 59 games at the time of his most recent promotion.
One of the biggest lessons Madris took out of his previous MLB stint was an idea he stole from Daniel Vogelbach: screw the results; trust his approach.
“You can sleep well at night if you do that, no matter the results," Madris said.
There’s really nowhere to go but up, as the Pirates don’t have many other options at first.
Tsutsugo is hitting .163 over his past 13 games — since returning from a back injury — while Mason Martin is hitting just .197, including .138 with a 43.4% strikeout rate (76 in 175 plate appearances) over his past 45. Michael Chavis has been their best option, but he’s hitting .174 with a .490 OPS over his last 24 games.
While it would be understandable to ease Madris into regular work, it’s also something the Pirates should — and will — explore.
“When we sent him down the first time, he was playing well,” manager Derek Shelton said of Madris. “It was just the fact that we were starting to bring guys off the IL.
“He'll probably play there at some point, but we will ease him into it and make sure he gets some work and gets used to the infielders here.”
Injury updates
Among director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk's injury updates:
— Blake Cederlind will see Dr. Neal ElAttrache in the coming days for the recurrent elbow pain that has halted his rehab from UCL reconstruction surgery.
— Chase De Jong (left knee tendonitis) will throw live batting practice soon. If all goes well, he could be back when he’s eligible to come off the 15-day injured list (Aug. 1).
— Nick Gonzales (heel) is in Florida and will resume some semblance of game activity in the next 7-10 days.
— Henry Davis (left wrist fracture) has resumed gripping activities and taking dry swings (not at a ball) but remains behind Gonzales.
— Brennan Malone (recurrent shoulder pain) recently came to Pittsburgh to be examined by Pirates doctors. It ... sounds bad. He’s not throwing, and the Pirates are in the process of figuring out next steps on him.
Draft pick signs
The Pirates on Thursday signed 15th-round draft pick Josiah Sightler, a first baseman out of the University of South Carolina.
Sightler hit .300 with 11 doubles, a team-high 15 home runs and 31 RBIs in 51 games this past season while posting a .988 fielding percentage.
Pittsburgh has now signed 17 of its 21 draft picks, including 11 of the first 12. Most important: Top pick Termarr Johnson remains unsigned. The deadline for that to happen is Aug. 1.
