Francisco Cervelli has 1,194 at-bats as the primary catcher for the Pirates since 2015. But going forward, the Pirates will look for opportunities to keep his bat in the lineup, even if he’s not manning the backstop.
Cervelli, who missed 14 games in June and July after sustaining his fourth concussion since 2011, has taken some grounders at first base, and Clint Hurdle said Thursday the possibility of Cervelli seeing time at first is “something that [the club is] definitely tracking moving forward with him.”
“[It’s] to give him a chance to stay in the lineup and not have to catch five or six days a week to stay in the lineup,” Hurdle said.