Pirates' Ji Hwan Bae: Sitting against lefty
Bae is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Astros.
Though he'll give way to the righty-hitting Mark Mathias with southpaw Framber Valdez on the mound for Houston, the lefty-hitting Bae nonetheless looks as though he'll have an even clearer runway to a near-everyday role with shortstop Oneil Cruz (fibula) expected to be sidelined for around four months following surgery. Bae had already started in seven of his Pirates' first nine games while moving between second base and center field, but he could end up seeing most of his time at the keystone moving forward while Rodolfo Castro likely serves as Cruz's primary replacement at shortstop. The 23-year-old Bae looks like an appealing pickup in mid-sized or deeper leagues for any manager looking for help in stolen bases and possibly runs, as he could be a candidate to fill Cruz's spot as the Pirates' main leadoff man versus right-handed pitching.
