While Tampa Bay Rays’ outfielder Kevin Kiermaier needs thumb surgery, that’s not the only hand-related injury making waves. Turns out, the Pittsburgh Pirates are going to be without Josh Harrison for a while after he fractured his hand on Sunday. How? Just by taking a pitch off of it, of course.
“Harrison Update: Josh Harrison was examined by Allegheny Health Network hand specialist Dr. Ed Birdsong today, and it was determined that he sustained a fracture to the 5th metacarpal of the left hand. The estimated return to competition is approximately six weeks.”
No injuries are good injuries, of course. We have been over this in the past. But this comes at a particularly bad time for the Pirates. They are 11-4 in the early going. And while Harrison isn’t tearing the cover off the ball yet (.263/.328/.351), he’s an important piece to this team. On the other hand, this team isn’t expected to stay competitive all season long.
But didn’t we say that about the Milwaukee Brewers last season?
Over parts of eight seasons, Harrison holds a triple-slash of .281/.321/.413. He would tally a career-best 16 home runs last season. In the meantime, here’s to a speedy and full recovery.