Ji-Hwan Bae activated off IL; Jared Triolo optioned to AAA

INF/OF Ji-Hwan Bae has been activated off the 10-day IL and INF Jared Triolo has been optioned to AAA Indianapolis per a team announcement.

Ji-Hwan Bae was placed on the 10-day IL on July 2 with a left ankle sprain, he began a rehab assignment in AAA at the start of August. Playing mostly 2B and CF Bae was hitting .239/.301/.308 with 22 SBs in 76 games. He will hit leadoff and play CF tonight in Minneapolis as the Pirates take on the Twins.

While there was seemingly no question about his eventual return to the MLB roster from injury, who would be the odd player out, was. Jared Triolo is evidently that player, which comes as a bit of a surprise.

3B Ke’Bryan Hayes may be on a tear right now, but he has also been on the IL twice this season with lower back issues, missing a decent amount of time. Something of recurring injury for him now over multiple seasons. They eased him back into the fold since his activation at the start of the month. With Triolo going back to AAA there’s no more obvious reliable safety net on the 26-man roster.

Connor Joe does have plenty of pro experience at the hot corner in the minors at over 1,200 innings, but the infield work at the MLB level has come exclusively at 1B.

Alika Williams seemed to be the more logical fit to be optioned, SS/2B Liover Peguero has been preforming quite well, Williams not so much, just 10 hits in 21 games with a .273 OBP. For Triolo while the OPS might not have been there at just .664, he certainly wasn’t lacking in bat to ball skills, hitting .276 with a .350 OBP.

Something that truthfully, can’t be said about more than a few players on this team, while also providing more than adequate defense at both 3B and 2B. He certainly didn’t play his way out of a role, not with the current group of players anyways.

Perhaps with an Oneil Cruz rehab looming they’re trying to get Williams as many MLB MI reps as possible before now and Cruz’s return to action presumably sometime in September.

The team also announced that RHP Dauri Moreta will begin a rehab assignment tonight in AAA Indianapolis. He was placed on the 15-day IL on August 4.