Pirates' Ji Hwan Bae: Competing to start at second base
Rotowire
Bae is in a competition with Tucupita Marcano and Rodolfo Castro to begin the 2023 season as Pittsburgh's starting second baseman, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.
Bae is among the Pirates' better prospects, and he made his big-league debut across the last two weeks of the 2022 season. He was impressive in that span by posting a .333/.405/.424 line with three stolen bases across 37 plate appearances, though Castro had a strong second half of the campaign as well. Bae hasn't hit particularly well at the start of spring training, as he has only one hit in nine at-bats while striking out four times.
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Pirates' Ji-hwan Bae: Two hits, steals bag
Rotowire
Bae went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base Sunday against the Cardinals.
Bae has started seven of nine games since being promoted for his major-league debut. He tallied his third stolen base Sunday and also has eight hits across 26 at-bats. Though Bae has yet to go yard, he has contributed across the box score by racking up three doubles, three runs scored and four RBI in his small sample in the majors.
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Pirates' Ji-hwan Bae: Tallies second double
Rotowire
Bae went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored Tuesday against the Cubs.
Bae got a day off Monday, but he returned to the lineup Tuesday to hit ninth and play second base. Though he tallied two hits, he came around to score in the third inning after leading off the frame by being hit with a pitch. Bae has yet to tally his first career home run, but he does have two doubles and two steals across four starts.
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Pirates' Ji-hwan Bae: Heads to bench Monday
Rotowire
Bae is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Reds.
Bae will take a seat after he started each of the final three games of the Pirates' weekend series against the Cubs while going 2-for-11 with a double, a walk, two RBI, a run and two stolen bases. Though Bae doesn't have a direct path to an everyday role at any one spot, his defensive versatility should help him see a decent amount of at-bats over the final week and a half of the season as he attempts to stake his claim to a full-time role in 2023.
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Pirates' Ji-hwan Bae: Two steals in debut
Rotowire
Bae went 1-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Cubs.
Bae reached base twice and stole second base each time, including in the bottom of the ninth after his first career MLB hit. The 23-year-old second baseman swiped 30 bags in 38 attempts with Triple-A Indianapolis this season, and he showed no signs of slowing down in his debut with the Pirates. Bae will look to use the last few weeks of the 2022 campaign to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster for 2023.
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Pirates' Ji-hwan Bae: Starting at second in debut
Rotowire
Bae had his contract selected by the Pirates and will start at second base and bat eighth Friday against the Cubs, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
The 23-year-old has been called up for his first taste of the majors and will make his debut Friday. Bae posted a .291/.364/.432 slash line with eight home runs, 53 RBI, 81 runs and 30 steals in 108 games at Triple-A this year, and he could see action at shortstop and in the outfield down the stretch, in addition to second base.
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Pirates' Ji-hwan Bae: Reinstated from injured list
Rotowire
Bae (oblique) was reinstated from the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.
Bae sustained an oblique strain in late July and has been kept off the field since then. He's expected to be eased into action as the designated hitter, but he'll be available once again after slashing .300/.367/.453 with eight homers, 59 runs, 41 RBI and 20 stolen bases over 83 games to begin the year.
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Pirates' Ji-hwan Bae: Nearing return to game action
Rotowire
Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Bae (oblique) should return to action for Triple-A Indianapolis or a lower-level affiliate as part of a rehab assignment within the next few days, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.
Bae is on Indianapolis' 7-day injured list due to an oblique strain, which has kept him out of commission since July 24. The 23-year-old has picked up starts in both middle-infield spots as well as left field and center field this season, but he's expected to be eased back in as a designated hitter when he's formally activated from the IL. Before being shut down with the injury, Bae was slashing .300/.367/.453 with eight home runs and 20 steals in 358 plate appearances for Indianapolis.
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Pirates' Ji-hwan Bae: Lands on injured list
Rotowire
Bae was placed on the 7-day minor-league injured list due to an oblique issue Thursday, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.
Bae was pushing for a promotion to the big leagues while maintaining a .300/.367/.453 line across 358 plate appearances with Triple-A Indianapolis. The injury is unlucky timing and no timetable has been given for his return. Assuming he's not sidelined for too long, Bae could still make his way to Pittsburgh by the close of the season.
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Pirates' Ji-hwan Bae: Reinstated from injured list
Rotowire
Bae (knee) was reinstated from the 7-day minor-league injured list Tuesday, Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Bae was diagnosed with a Grade 1 MCL sprain in his knee after he was hurt in an outfield collision June 8. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomcyk anticipated a recovery timetable of 4-to-6 weeks, but the 21-year-old will be able to return slightly sooner than expected. Bae should be available at Double-A Altoona going forward.
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Pirates' Ji-Hwan Bae: Joins taxi squad
Rotowire
The Pirates announced Sunday that Bae will be included as one of 19 players on the team's taxi squad for the 2020 season, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.
Bae is one of several top prospects from the organization that will report to the Pirates' alternative training site at their Double-A facility in Altoona when teams resume workouts in July. While Bae's inclusion on the taxi squad and the Pirates' 60-man roster pool will make him eligible to join the big club in 2020, Pittsburgh is presumably more interested in overseeing his development in a team setting rather than rushing him to the majors. He spent the 2019 campaign at Low-A Greensboro, posting an .825 OPS and 31 stolen bases across 380 plate appearances.
