ST. LOUIS -- Colin Moran's got a concussion, Keone Kela still can't throw a baseball, and the Pirates reacted accordingly Thursday before the doubleheader with the Cardinals.
The team placed Moran on the seven-day concussion Injury List, retroactive to Sunday, when he was injured in a collision at first base at PNC Park, and it placed Kela on the 10-day IL due to right forearm inflammation. To replace them, first baseman Will Craig and reliever Nick Mears were added from their three-man traveling taxi squad.
There's been some conflicting word about Kela's status, as Derek Shelton had declared him 'available' to pitch Tuesday in Chicago, before Todd Tomczyk, the team's director of sports medicine, told reporters Wednesday that Kela hadn't yet gripped a ball since getting hurt again last Friday. Shelton insisted Thursday that he'd initially pronounced Kela 'active,' so it's possible he simply misspoke.
Craig, 25, was the Pirates' first-round pick, 22nd overall, in the 2016 MLB Draft and was immediately inserted into the lineup to make his big-league debut. In 2019 for Class AAA Indianapolis, he hit 23 home runs and was a minor-league Gold Glove winner at first.
"I asked Will today, 'How'd you like to play in a big-league game?' " Shelton recalled of their conversation here.
Why, Shelton was asked, was Craig promoted rather than top prospect Ke'Bryan Hayes?
"It was a situation where we want to get a look at Will," Shelton replied. "I understand people are excited about Hayes, and he'll be here, but we're getting a look at Will."
And why Mears rather than flamethrowing Blake Cederlind, the third member of the taxi squad?
"Mears had length," Shelton replied, referring to Mears being stretched out to pitch more innings. "Blake threw a side here yesterday and looked great. We felt we needed innings."
Cody Ponce, the starter for Game 2 Thursday, was added as the allotted 29th man for doubleheaders.
