Sean Rodriguez wasn’t expecting to be traded, as he’d only played 15 games for the Atlanta Braves since signing a two-year contract this past offseason, but there was a silver lining in the news general manager John Coppolella shared with him Saturday. Rodriguez had indeed been traded, but the destination — Pittsburgh — was a place where he already felt at home.
“I was a little shocked at first,” Rodriguez said Sunday, seated in the home dugout at PNC Park before his first game back with the Pirates, “but there was an immediate sigh of joy. If you’re going to go anywhere, come back to somewhere you’re not only familiar but you view as family and you loved while you were there. I sure did. I’m super pumped to come back.”
Rodriguez wasn’t in the starting lineup Sunday, but he was back in the No. 3 jersey he wore the past two seasons. He coaxed the uniform number away from third-base coach Joey Cora, who will wear No. 15. Rodriguez laughed and declined to reveal how he had pried the number away.
“I feel like a Pirate again,” he said. “… To be back, it definitely feels like a reunion.”
Rodriguez, 32, had a .768 OPS for the Pirates in 2015 and 2016. He’s reached free agency each of the past two offseasons and eventually ended up in Pittsburgh. Traded to the Pirates by the Tampa Bay Rays Dec. 1, 2014, for minor leaguer Buddy Borden, Rodriguez re-signed on a one-year, $2.5 million deal for the 2016 season and then posted a career-high .859 OPS.
“He’s grown with us. We’ve grown together,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “You love having guys like him around, especially when you're bringing up young players as well. He’s learned the game the right way. He respects the game. He honors the game. He understands the clubhouse dynamic, the field dynamic and the dugout dynamic very well.”
Rodriguez missed half the season while rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery stemming from a harrowing car crash. He batted .162 in 15 games for the Braves. The Pirates expect the small sample size is not indicative of how his production will play out over the next 14 months.
In Pittsburgh, Rodriguez won’t be an everyday player but will be relied upon as a veteran bat off the bench and an elite defender in the infield and outfield. While a primary reason he chose the Braves in free agency was the chance to play everyday — an option taken out of his hands by the car accident — Rodriguez said he’s “here to win” and happy to play anywhere.
“I’m a kid. I love to play,” he said. “Yeah, sitting in the dugout is definitely the next-best thing [to playing every day] because you know you can still get called upon at any moment. But I like taking a shower after the game and not realizing I’ve got some scabs on me from the three or four times that I dove and didn't notice because they were in an awkward spot.”
To make room for Rodriguez on the roster, the Pirates optioned infielder Max Moroff to Class AAA Indianapolis. Moroff is 9 for 62 (.145) in 71 plate appearances in the majors this season.
Kang’s case
The addition of Rodriguez provides the Pirates with a backup option should Jung Ho Kang not be granted a United States visa next year. General manager Neal Huntington acknowledged Sunday it’s been “an unfortunate reality from the outset that he may never get a visa again.” If Kang returns, Huntington said, the Pirates will have “a strong lineup with a very strong bench.”
“We worked the [visa] process, worked the process again and have not gotten a different result,” Huntington said. “We'll attack it in different ways again the next time through and hope there is a different outcome. We do need to begin to prepare as if he’s not coming back. …
“It’s a harsh reality. I’d love to tell you the longer it goes the better chances we have. In some cases, that’s probably the case. In other cases, it might just mean it’s not going to happen.”
The road ahead
Austin Meadows, the outfield prospect currently rehabbing from a hamstring injury, could be a candidate to play winter ball as a way to pick up some of the at-bats he missed this minor league season. Huntington said the Pirates have discussed that option with Meadows’ camp, and a decision will be made depending on what route seems best to keep Meadows healthy.
Huntington didn’t specifically say Meadows won’t be called up to the majors when rosters expand in September, but said it may be smarter to simply allow Meadows to rest and prepare for winter ball or his offseason program.
“If we continue to push in the right direction, September is not a tryout camp anymore as it was in our first three years here,” Huntington said. “September is about finding guys who can help a manager win a game because they're able to do this, or they’re able to do that. While Austin can do a lot of really good things, it may not be in his best interest to be in a smaller role.”
Stephen J. Nesbitt: snesbitt@post-gazette.com and Twitter @stephenjnesbitt.
First Published: August 6, 2017, 7:06 p.m.
