Pirates' Ji Hwan Bae: Back in lineup Thursday
Bae will start at second base and bat seventh in Thursday's game against the Padres.
Bae was on the bench for two of the Pirates' last four games and is slashing a miserable .150/.232/.167 thus far in June, putting his status as an everyday player on notice. If there's a saving grace for Bae, it's that fellow middle infielder Tucupita Marcano has performed similarly poor in June (.493 OPS), which has resulted in recent call-up Nick Gonzales entering the lineup in place of Marcano for three straight games. Even if Marcano is the odd man out of the three for the time being, Bae could eventually lose reps to Rodolfo Castro at the keystone if another recent call-up in Jared Triolo ends up serving as the primary replacement at third base for the injured Ke'Bryan Hayes (back).
