The Pittsburgh Pirates took a big bat out of the middle of their batting order when first baseman/designated hitter Ji-Man Choi was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a strain of his left Achilles tendon.

To replace Choi on the active roster, the Pirates recalled infielder/outfielder Tucupita Marcano from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Choi, 31, was scratched from the starting lineup before Friday’s 3-0 loss at the St. Louis Cardinals, and his IL stint is retroactive to April 14. Choi was batting .125 (4 for 32) in nine games this season but homered in back-to-back games against Houston on Monday and Tuesday and also had a double in Tuesday’s 7-4 win over the Astros.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton said on the AT&T SportsNet pregame show that Carlos Santana will get the majority of playing time at first base but Connor Joe also could see time there.

Marcano, 23, was batting .422/.458./.689 with seven doubles, one triple, one home run and 10 RBIs in 11 games with Indianapolis, and ranked third in the International League in batting, tied for first in hits (19) and doubles, tied for fourth in extra-base hits (nine) and tied for seventh in total bases (31). He was named the International League player of the week for the first week of the season.

“He’s been playing really well. He’s extremely versatile,” Shelton told AT&T SportsNet. “It gives us another infielder, a guy that can bounce around the diamond a bit. Tuc’s been swinging the bat well and deserves to be up here.”

Marcano batted .206/.256/.306 with six doubles, two triples, two homers and 13 RBIs in 49 games for the Pirates last season, when he started 26 games in left field and 18 at second base.

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