The Pittsburgh Pirates chances at the NL Central dwindled a long time ago, but heading into play on Saturday they find themselves 2.5 games behind St. Louis for the second wild card spot. Those chances may begin to dim with the news that Gerrit Cole will see a specialist.
Sources: #Pirates RHP Gerrit Cole will NOT start Monday v Cubs. He will fly to LA on Sunday to have sore elbow examined by specialist.
— RobBiertempfel (@RobBiertempfel) August 27, 2016
I've heard #Pirates are NOT concerned Cole has ligament damage.
— RobBiertempfel (@RobBiertempfel) August 27, 2016
Cole is 7-9 with the Pirates this season with a 3.55 ERA, which was at just 2.78 when August began. Thanks to a 6.08 ERA this month, Cole’s earned run average has been on the rise.
Without Cole, the Pirates rotation consists of Jameson Taillon, Ryan Vogelsong, Ivan Nova and Chad Kuhl. Tyler Glasnow has made two rehab starts in Double-A Altoona, but each outing was three innings, and his pitch counts were not terribly high at 55 and 57 pitches. His last start was on August 22, and his next start has yet to be announced. It’s not unfathomable that the Pirates would have him make the start against the Cubs in place of Cole, but he doesn’t appear to be stretched out for a long start just yet. If he gets the start, expect to see the bullpen early on.
Steven Brault is an option that could join the rotation, but would be unavailable to pitch on Monday after just making a start on Thursday. Brault is the team’s number 15 prospect and has made two starts for the Pirates back in July and holds a 3.60 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP over ten innings. He could be brought up to supplement the bullpen, if Locke were to be added back into the rotation and Cole hits the DL.
The more likely option will be Jeff Locke, who is already on the Pittsburgh Pirates 25-man roster and has been used as both a starter and a reliever this season and holds a cumulative 5.38 ERA across 115.1 innings pitched. Locke has made 19 starts this season and his ERA sits at 5.86 as a starter, while he has yet to allow a run out of the bullpen in 9.1 relief innings.
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The likelihood that Gerrit Cole will miss more than one start seems to be high, as the news after seeing a specialist is never that everything is perfect. Potentially without him, the Pirates playoff chances will take a hit, but with the Giants struggling in the first wild card spot and six games left against the Cardinals, Pittsburgh isn’t out of it by any means, and we could even see some of their young arms carry them into yet another wild card game.