When the Pirates placed Ji-Man Choi on the 10-day injured list a week ago in St. Louis, they'd projected his absence at eight weeks.
Choi saw it as half that.
A source with direct knowledge of the veteran first baseman's perspective told me this weekend, before he was moved to the 60-day IL Sunday morning, that he expected to be playing again within four weeks, this despite still being in a walking boot to help heal a strained left Achilles tendon. When I mentioned the team's timeframe, the walking boot and a possible return-to-baseball rehab, the source doubled down on four weeks. And adamantly so.
Choi, 31, was off to a 4-for-32 start before the IL placement, but three of those four hits -- including both of his home runs -- came in the two games before his final game April 14. He also was showing well defensively at first.
He'd had an issue with the tendon going back to spring training, predominantly when fielding grounders, but it wasn't seen as serious enough to delay his start to the season. And even with the IL placement, the team's stance is that the matter doesn't require surgery but, rather, just time in the boot.
A possible variable in all this: The Pirates' 40-man roster currently is full, plus four on the 60-day IL -- Oneil Cruz, JT Brubaker, Jarlin Garcia and Max Kranick -- but one of those 40, minor-league pitcher Mike Burrows, might have a serious arm injury. That was getting tight, even before Drew Maggi was promoted Sunday morning from Class AA Altoona because of Bryan Reynolds going to the bereavement list. Anyone on the 60-day IL doesn't count toward the 40-man roster, so Choi being moved to the 60 helps with flexibility.
