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The Pirates have activated catcher Francisco Cervelli from the disabled list and optioned Elias Diaz to AAA.
#Pirates activate Cervelli from DL, send Diaz back to Triple-A @indyindians
— Rob Biertempfel (@BiertempfelTrib) August 25, 2017
Cervelli was on the 10-day DL due to a left wrist injury. He was eligible to come off yesterday. Cervelli is batting 249/340/370 on the season, with an OPS+ of 86 that’s the lowest in his three seasons with the Pirates. He had hamate surgery on the same hand last year. Cervelli has said that pain in the wrist is affecting both his swing and his ability to receive low pitches. Maybe not coincidentally, pitch framing data shows him as well below average this year after being well above average previously in his career.
Diaz is batting 250/283/350 in 36 games with the Pirates. His 65 OPS+ leaves a lot to be desired, but Chris Stewart’s is a dismal 22. Diaz can’t be recalled for ten days except in the event of an injury.