Pirates place OF Canaan Smith-Njigba on 60-day IL, call up LHP Cam Vieaux

Only three games into his major-league career, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba is headed for the 60-day injured list with a nondisplaced fracture of the schaphoid bone in his right wrist.

The Pirates selected the contract of 28-year-old lefty reliever Cam Vieaux from Triple-A Indianapolis, where he was 3-0 with a 2.28 ERA and 0.90 WHIP with 23 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings in 18 appearances.

Smith-Njigba, 23, made his major-league debut Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals, doubling in his first at-bat to become the first Pirates player to record an extra-base hit in his first MLB plate appearance since Tony Sanchez doubled in his debut June 23, 2013.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Smith-Njigba was injured after a collision with center fielder Bryan Reynolds on Wednesday night in St. Louis. Smith-Njigba flew out to left, then grounded into a double play. He was replaced by Jack Suwinski in left field.

“If you watch the play, he kind of fell and braced himself on his right hand,” Shelton said. “I give him a ton of credit because he took two more at-bats and kept pushing off but just got to the point where it was bothering him.

“When I talked to him, I just told him how much I appreciated that he grinded through two at-bats. This is a kid that’s played three games in the big leagues. It’s an unfortunate thing. He’s worked really hard to get here, so we talked about working to get back and what he needed to do. He got his first big-league hit. Let’s highlight the positive things. I don’t think there’s any doubt he’s going to work hard to get back to where he needs to be.”

Vieaux, a sixth-round pick in 2016 out of Michigan State, was a South Atlantic League All-Star in 2017 with Single-A West Virginia and was named Double-A Altoona’s Pitcher of the Year in 2018 after he tied for the lead among Pirates farmhands in wins (13), ranked third in strikeouts (124), fifth in innings pitched (144 1/3) and eighth in ERA (3.68).

Shelton said he has heard “a lot of positive things” about the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Vieaux, who had a 1.64 ERA in 22 innings over his last 15 appearances with Indianapolis, holding opponents to a .123 batting average since April 26.

“Anytime we add anybody that’s not on the roster, you really have to be doing something that really stands out,” Shelton said. “He’s throwing the ball really well. He has the ability to throw multi innings, has the ability to get left-handers out. Everybody that’s run through there and I have had conversations with in the last month, his name is one of the first ones that comes up.”