Shuck to get work as a pitcher at Indianapolis

Rob Biertempfel is reporting at The Athletic (subscription required) that the Pirates will be using J.B. Shuck as a two-way player at Triple-A Indianapolis.

Recently designated for assignment by the Pirates after being signed as a free agent over the winter, the 31 year old Shuck hit 213/339/255 in 27 games and has a career 243/295/314 line in seven major league seasons. He made one relief appearance May 7 in a blowout loss to the Diamondbacks, his second in the major leagues, and threw a scoreless inning with a fastball that touched 91 mph.

Shuck was a regular member of the starting rotation for all three years he attended Ohio State, compiling a 3.87 ERA is 37 starts covering 223 IP. He had a 2.51 ERA as a freshman and struck out 10.5 batters per 9 innings as a junior.

Pirates’ Director of Player Development Larry Broadway told Biertempfel

This is not about helping in Indianapolis. It’s about seeing if he can find more ways to contribute at the major-league level. The idea is to increase his value, both for this season and for the remainder of his career.

Shuck said

I’m trying to find any way I can get up there and stay up there, so I’m all for trying it...Maybe that’s the ticket for me.

So, we’ll see what happens. I have a bit of background of pitching in college, so I let (the Pirates) know from the start, ‘If you ever need anybody, I’ll go out and do it.’ I have enough confidence that I know that I’ll at least throw strikes.