Cole Tucker's demotion from Pirates to Triple-A opens door for Rodolfo Castro

Cole Tucker took the bad news of his demotion to Triple-A Indianapolis like his manager expected.

“I shouldn’t say very well in that he was excited about it,” Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “But very professionally. I think he knows there are some things he needs to work on.

“The other thing is, some of it is based on performance. To be at the big leagues, you have to perform. That comes into play.”

Tucker, 25, is hitting .175 with nine singles among his 11 hits, no home runs and two RBIs. Worse, he has struck out nearly 40% of the time (25 whiffs and no walks in 63 plate appearances). Since he was first promoted to the big-league club in 2019, Tucker has logged more minor-league plate appearances (716) than he has recorded with the Pirates (469).

The demotion occurred only a few days after Tucker decided to stop switch-hitting. Shelton said Triple-A might be a better place to work on hitting exclusively from the left side.

“When you go strictly left-handed,” Shelton said, “I think that’s really hard doing that at the major-league level. In fairness to him, we need to give him an opportunity to work on it probably in an environment that’s a little bit different than here.”

Shelton was almost apologetic for putting him at the plate Monday with two runners in scoring position against the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Julio Urias, a 20-game winner last season. Tucker struck out swinging.

“I put him, probably, in a bad situation for his left-on-left at-bat, for it to be against Urias in a second-and-third situation with one out,” Shelton said. “It happened positionally, but we need him to go down and work on some things.”

Like many baseball transactions, one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity. The Pirates recalled Rodolfo Castro from Indianapolis and immediately thrust him into the starting lineup at shortstop Thursday night against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park. He went 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

“It’s the right time to flip those two guys out,” said Shelton, who added Castro likely also will play second and third base.

Castro made history with the Pirates last season when he became the first player in the modern era to have his first five hits go for home runs. One was a 437-foot shot at PNC Park.

After working out in the infield before Thursday’s game, Castro, 22, said he is grateful to have the Pirates’ trust.

“I didn’t think I would have an opportunity to play (Thursday),” Castro said through team translator Mike Gonzalez. “That’s exciting. That’s what I want.”

Castro was hitting .250 at Indianapolis, with two home runs and 12 RBIs, but Shelton said the organization has been pleased with his improved consistency in controlling the strike zone. “Something I know we’ve challenged him on,” Shelton said.

Castro said a more disciplined approach has helped.

“I have to give all credit to my discipline,” he said. “Right now, my discipline, my routine is helping me feel good in every area, not just defensively, but also offensively. I’m being very religious in my routine, and I’m also implementing some new drills that have made me feel more comfortable in everything I do.”

He said his early success last season gave him confidence to take into the offseason, even though those five home runs were his last of 2021 and he ended up hitting .198 with the Pirates.

“It opened my mind up to new things and a deeper hunger, more than anything, to just continue working hard,” he said. “I’m not afraid of work. I’m not afraid of putting in extra work. This offseason, I went into it with that taste of the big leagues. When you get up here, no one wants to leave. The mission was to come back here, not to go back down again.”

Meanwhile, the Pirates need to replace Tucker’s right field innings. Shelton said Diego Castillo, Josh VanMeter and Jack Suwinski will share the duty.

Notes: The Pirates claimed right-handed pitcher Tyler Beede off waivers from the San Francisco Giants and designated pitcher Beau Sulser for assignment. Beede had a 4.66 ERA in six appearances with the Giants. … The team also activated right-handed pitcher Duane Underwood Jr. from the injured list (hamstring strain) and optioned Max Kranick to Indianapolis. … Jake Marisnick had surgery on his left thumb Thursday and is expected to miss four-to-six weeks.