Pirates OF Gregory Polanco at ‘100%’ physical health in return from shoulder injury

Ben Cherington tapped the knuckles of his clenched hand onto a table not once but twice Friday as he was discussing the status of Pittsburgh Pirates starting right fielder Gregory Polanco.

The first time Cherington knocked on wood was when he declared Polanco “at 100% right now from a basic health perspective.” The new Pirates general manager did so again when he said of Polanco, “I’d expect going into spring training, knock on wood, no setbacks, he’s at full participation.”

A shoulder injury cost Polanco parts of the 2018 or ‘19 seasons. The injury required surgery in late 2018 that resulted from an awkward slide. He was limited to 42 games last season and did not play after June 16, struggling with throws and hitting only .242 with six home runs.

#Pirates GM Neal Huntington said before Gregory Polanco can resume making meaningful contributions to the team, he needs an offseason of successful rehab https://t.co/wuOvQtvyvD

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) September 9, 2019

Polanco’s shoulder was still bothering him last season, in part because, as the Pirates eventually acknowledged, he came back too quickly.

This spring, that won’t be an issue from a medical perspective, but from a major-league ready standpoint Polanco has been limited to just 42 games over what will be a 19-month span.

“(Being medically 100%) doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t be cautious going into spring training,” Cherington said, “because one way to define 100% is do you pass a physical? Another would be, ‘How much game time are you ready for? How much playing volume are you ready for?’ That’s something we want to try and ramp up thoughtfully.”

Love baseball? Stay up-to-date with the latest Pittsburgh Pirates news.