BRADENTON, Fla. — Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Jack Brannigan sustained multiple injuries to the nasal complex when a bad hop hit him in the face in Sunday’s split-squad game at the Philadelphia Phillies.
Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Brannigan was re-examined Monday morning by team physicians and suffered a broken nose and cartilage damage in the second inning while playing third base for the Pirates in Clearwater.
The 24-year-old Brannigan, ranked the Pirates’ No. 21 prospect by Baseball America, batted .225/.329/.358 with eight doubles, two triples, five home runs and 30 RBIs in 59 games at Double-A Altoona last season before suffering a season-ending right shoulder injury in mid-June. Brannigan was added to the 40-man roster in November.
“We’re going to schedule some follow-ups with local specialists — ear, nose and throat physicians — to get a better idea of a timeframe,” Tomczyk said at LECOM Park. “Very unfortunate for Jack coming back from shoulder surgery. … As of now it’s centralized to the nose. We don’t think any other facial bones have been impacted. We’re still learning.”
The Pirates also lost two relief pitchers for some time. Right-hander Ryan Harbin, a 24-year-old whose contract was selected in November, sustained an injury to the teres major and lat and won’t throw for six weeks. Tomczyk compared the injury in similarity to what lefty Tim Mayza and righty Johan Oviedo dealt with last season.
Lefty Oddanier Mosqueda, a non-roster invite who signed a minor league deal in December, experienced discomfort after a live batting practice and is dealing with left forearm inflammation. Mosqueda won’t be available to pitch for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic.
On a positive note, Tomczyk said he’s “very encouraged” to see how right-handed starter Jared Jones is meeting all of the benchmarks following his live batting practice Friday. Dr. Keith Meister performed InternalBrace surgery on Jones’ right elbow May 21.
“What we’re learning and what research suggests is most of these athletes, their general timeframe is within that 12-month return to full competition. He’s lining up for that as such,” Tomczyk said, noting that Jones was placed on the 60-day injury list. “So we have a little bit of time, but the expiration of that 60-day should line up with that 12-month benchmark. Not surprised because he’s Jared Jones. He’s a hard worker. He’s very intense. He’s very diligent. And he was very focused from Day 1. … The goal is to get him major league game-ready at that one-year mark.”
Infielder/outfielder Ronny Simon, four months removed from surgery on his left shoulder, is swinging the bat in the cage with no restrictions. Simon is expected to take batting practice on the field next week and is projected to return to game competition in late March or early April.
