Pirates' Corey Dickerson takes rehab to Triple-A while Reynolds keeps average above .300

Already manned by two .300-plus hitters and everyday players Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco, the Pittsburgh Pirates outfield soon may get a fifth member.

Corey Dickerson, who won a Gold Glove and hit .300 for the Pirates last year, is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Friday night for Triple-A Indianapolis in its game at Columbus. Dickerson has been on the injured list since April 4 with a right shoulder strain.

In Dickerson’s absence, rookie Bryan Reynolds and 15-year veteran Melky Cabrera have played the majority of the games in left field. Reynolds is hitting .321 with four home runs and 12 RBIs while Cabrera is hitting .333 with three homers and 15 RBIs. Plus, Marte and Polanco are playing regularly in center field and right field.

When Dickerson is ready to return to the Pirates, the situation might become one of those “good problems to have” managers reference when they accumulate more players than the starting lineup can handle.

The Pirates (25-22 before starting a three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday) have been playing with 13 pitchers and 12 position players, leaving manager Clint Hurdle with only four pinch-hitters, including the backup catcher who is usually used only in an emergency.

General manager Neal Huntington and Hurdle might choose to flip those numbers — 13 position players, 12 pitchers — to bolster the bench when Dickerson returns. In any case, Hurdle will have a decision to make in left field, but Reynolds appears to have solidified a spot in the lineup.

He started the season in Indianapolis, his first venture into Triple-A baseball after hitting .302, with seven home runs and 46 RBIs last year in Double-A Altoona. He soon outgrew Triple-A, however, hitting .367 with five home runs and 11 RBIs in only 13 games.

Reynolds, 24, played his first game in Pittsburgh on April 20 and hit safety in his first 11 games, tying Polanco’s club record for a hitting streak at the start of a career. He’s been a valuable part of the team since then, and his three-run home run Thursday was the decisive blow in the Pirates’ six-run seventh inning that locked down the 14-6 victory.

Reynolds said he hasn’t noticed “an enormous difference” between the majors and minors.

“I’ve seen a few pitchers where it’s `Wow, their stuff is crazy,’ but I’d say, overall, the ability to spot up off-speed pitches and fastballs (has helped him). They’re still going to make mistakes, just like pitchers in the minor leagues, and you have to try and capitalize on that.”

Reynolds used his head Thursday when he guessed correctly that Rockies pitcher Carlos Estevez would throw a fastball after starting with a slider.

“It was a good pitch to hit,” he said.

Reynolds is difficult to spot in the Pirates’ clubhouse while he quietly prepares for the game.

“I’m not going to be a loud, boisterous guy,” he said. “But I’m confident in myself and the work I put in and I try to trust that.”

Reynolds is 50 percent of the return in one of the most controversial trades Huntington has made with the Pirates. Before the start of the 2018 season, Reynolds and relief pitcher Kyle Crick were traded from the San Francisco Giants for former National League MVP Andrew McCutchen. Crick, 26, was 3-2 last year with a 2.39 ERA and has been equally effective this season with a 2.35 ERA and 1-1 record.

Yet, it’s difficult to accurately judge the trade at this point.

McCutchen, 32, is playing every day in left field for the Phillies (28-21), who are in first place in the National League East. He has 104 more at-bats than Reynolds while hitting .259, with seven home runs and 24 RBIs and leading the National League in walks (36).

Since leaving the Pirates, he’s been with three teams, getting traded to the New York Yankees for the final month of the season and later signing a three-year, $50 million contract with the Phillies.