Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder/first baseman Ryan O’Hearn is expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list and be available to play in Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Twins, a source told TribLive.
O’Hearn suffered a strained right quad catching a pop up in foul territory while playing first base against the Philadelphia Phillies on May 16 and was placed on the IL the following day. Initially expected to be out for a month, his recovery time was about two weeks ahead of schedule.
Pirates manager Don Kelly said before Saturday’s game against the Twins at PNC Park that the final box for O’Hearn to check was in how he recovered after running the bases, taking batting practice and doing field work on Friday. Kelly also said he didn’t expect that O’Hearn would require a rehabilitation assignment.
“Really pumped to hear the news on O’Hearn, trending positively,” Kelly said. “It seems to be a lot quicker than what we anticipated, which is a great thing.”
O’Hearn was one of the Pirates’ big-ticket acquisitions in the offseason, when he signed a two-year, $29 million contract in free agency. The 32-year-old slugger is batting .289/.368/.459 with six doubles, seven home runs and 29 RBIs in 32 games this season.
In O’Hearn’s absence, the Pirates have used five different players in right field, with Esmerlyn Valdez getting five starts, Jake Mangum three starts, Bryan Reynolds and Jared Triolo two each and Jhostynxon Garcia one. O’Hearn could play right field, first base or be used as a left handed-hitting option at designated hitter when he returns.
“Obviously, O’Hearn is a huge part of our lineup,” Kelly said. “We’ve certainly missed him over these last two weeks or so and really pumped to get him back.”