Player News

• Pirates' Ji Hwan Bae: Heading to minors

  08/27/2024 • By RotoWire

  Bae was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.comreports. Bae started three of Pittsburgh's previous four games, but he's mired in a 3-for-23 slump and will return to the minors. Oneil Cruz is making the transition to center field, while Isiah Kiner-Falefa is poised to serve as the club's primary shortstop for the rest of the season.

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• Pirates' Ji Hwan Bae: Taking seat against righty

  08/25/2024 • By RotoWire

  Bae is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds. Though a right-hander (Nick Martinez) is on the hill for the Reds, the lefty-hitting Bae will head to the bench for the series finale. Michael Taylor will step in as the Pirates' center fielder in place of Bae, who still looks to be the Pirates' preferred option at the position after starting in each of the team's previous five matchups with righties.

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• Pirates' Ji Hwan Bae: On bench against lefty

  08/21/2024 • By RotoWire

  Bae is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers. The lefty-hitting Bae will hit the bench for the second day in a row while the Rangers send another southpaw (Andrew Heaney) to the hill, but the 25-year-old might have temporarily recaptured a regular spot in the lineup versus right-handed pitching. He started in each of the Pirates' last three matchups with righties, going 2-for-11 with three strikeouts. Billy McKinney looks to be Bae's main threat for playing time in right field with Bryan De La Cruz and Bryan Reynolds likely to see more starts at designated hitter in the short term while Andrew McCutchen (knee) is on the injured list.

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• Pirates' Ji Hwan Bae: Playing time trending down

  08/14/2024 • By RotoWire

  Bae is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Padres. Bae will hit the bench along with fellow left-handed hitters Rowdy Tellez and Oneil Cruz while the Padres send southpaw Martin Perez to the hill for the series finale. Whereas Tellez and Cruz appear fairly well locked into playing time against right-handed pitching, Bae was on the bench for three of the Pirates' last five matchups with right-handers, as Michael Taylor started in center field in each of those contests.

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• Pirates' Ji Hwan Bae: Swipes bag in loss

  08/12/2024 • By RotoWire

  Bae went 2-for-4 with a double, a stolen base and a run scored in Sunday's loss to the Dodgers. Bae was productive in his return to the starting lineup after being on the bench the previous two games. He doubled his first time up and came around to score on an Andrew McCutchen home run. Bae then notched a base hit in the fifth and stole second but was left stranded. Though it's a smaller sample size, Sunday was just his second multi-hit game of the year, and the double was only his second extra-base hit. For the year, Bae is slashing .216/.281/.255 with four RBI, 10 runs, five steals and a 5:16 BB:K in 57 plate appearances.

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