PITTSBURGH — Ke’Bryan Hayes was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday by the Pittsburgh Pirates because of inflammation in his lower back.
The move was made retroactive to June 25. The third baseman had missed two games after last playing in a 4-3 loss to Miami on Saturday. Hayes dealt with back issues prior to the four-game series against the Marlins, manager Derek Shelton said.
Shelton sat Hayes in Miami on Sunday, trying to get him ready for a three-game home series against the San Diego Padres. Hayes didn’t respond quickly enough, however, and was left out of a 9-4 win over San Diego on Tuesday.
“It just had been bothering him. He had been stiff,” Shelton said. “We gave him the last day off in Miami and it just hasn’t gotten better. So it got to the point where we had to give it a little bit of a rest. He did some hitting yesterday and it just didn’t respond to it. We decided this morning it was probably the best case.”
Hayes has a .254 batting average with five home runs and 32 RBIs in 74 games this season.
“He’ll do some treatments probably in the next couple days,” Shelton said. “Once we get that soreness and stiffness out, then we’ll start to resume some baseball activities.”
The 26-year-old Hayes joins outfielder Bryan Reynolds, also on the 10-day IL, retroactive to June 20, with lower back inflammation. Reynolds, who leads the Pirates with a .279 average and 40 RBIs, last played on June 19 against the Cubs.
Shelton said he would not hold out Hayes or Reynolds past the All-Star break if either is ready to return before that.
“When they’re ready to come back, they’ll come back,” Shelton said. “We’re not going to give them extra days. If they need extra days for their health, then they’ll get them. But when they’re ready to come back, they’ll come back.”
Jared Triolo, 25, was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis and made his major league debut at third base Wednesday night. He will primarily serve as Hayes’ replacement there, according to Shelton.
“Offensively, he’s been swinging the bat well over the last couple of weeks,” Shelton said. “Defensively, he’s a really good defender at a lot of positions, which is really important. He’s a guy that’s a natural third baseman. He’s played short, he’s played second, he’s moved into the outfield. He’s done all of them seemingly without any noticeable transition.”
Triolo received a phone call at 1:30 a.m. informing him of the call-up Wednesday morning, then drove to Pittsburgh from Indianapolis.
“There was definitely a period where no music was being played and the thoughts were going wild. All just exciting stuff,” Triolo said. “I’m just really excited. The anxiety of wanting to get here, meet everybody again, say ‘What’s up?’ and get settled in a little more. It’s been awesome so far in the 15 minutes I’ve been here.”