It was announced today that the Pittsburgh Pirates were recalling infielder Rodolfo Castro from AAA and optioning Cole Tucker to Indianapolis. The move comes after many Pirate fans have lamented every time Tucker was in the Pirates lineup since Opening Day.
The former 1st round pick in 2014, Tucker, has had a rocky start to his MLB career. In four years he has just a .211 career batting average and a .573 career OPS. Those are bad by any standards, but especially for a 1st round pick who has now had over 450 plate appearances in the big leagues.
Tucker was said to have adjusted his approach at the plate this season and it has led to even worse results. in 2022 he is batting .175 with a .397 OPS. .397 OPS! I thought they gave you a .400 OPS just for tying your cleats correctly.
Castro hasn't performed much better in his cup of coffee in the big leagues, albeit with much fewer plate appearances and much younger than Tucker at 22 years old. He will get his first opportunity to start tonight at shortstop and is batting 9th in the order.
As far as we know this is just a move to get Tucker work down in the minors, but we also may have seen the last of Cole Tucker in a Pirates jersey.