Huntington Speaks

Here are a few quick notes from Neal Huntington’s chat with the media:

Taillon timetable: Pirates general manager Neal Huntington had his weekly chat with the media prior to Sunday’s game and among the many topics he discussed was the health and status of heralded pitcher Jameson Taillon.

Huntington said that Taillon, who will have surgery to repair a hernia this week, is likely going to need some time to recover but he wouldn’t rule out a September call up for him if all goes well.

“We will see how the recovery goes,” Huntington said. “It is two months-ish. I mean, we have been told it is roughly two months until he is ready to compete. We are always going to leave the door open [for Taillon to return for September] but I don’t want it to become a story that we are looking for him in September.”

Sadler ailing: Another pitcher on the mend is Casey Sadler, who is currently with Indianapolis, as he is on the disabled list with a right forearm strain that has hampered him since spring training.

Huntington said the Pirates will take a cautious approach to getting him back in the lineup but said that he is getting closer to being ready to return.”

“He is making progress,” Huntington said. “We are going to wait until he is symptom free to get him throwing again and sometimes that is sooner rather than later and our hope in this case is that it will be sooner.”

Polanco staying: Polanco’s average is down to .233 and he has, at times, struggled with consistency but Huntington said there are no plans to send him down to Class AAA to work on his hitting.

“We believe Gregory Polanco is going to be a quality Major League player but there are growing pains, there is an evolution for a young player,” Huntington said. “And [a demotion for him] hasn’t even been a conversation.”