PITTSBURGH -- The trio of Pirates who opened the year on the Major League disabled list -- Jared Hughes, Jung Ho Kang and Elias Diaz -- continued to make progress during the first week of the season.
Hughes, out with a left lat strain, threw off the slope of the mound for the first time on Wednesday, head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk said, and felt good. The next step is for the right-handed reliever to throw off the mound.
Kang, working his way back from September surgery on his left knee, played five innings at third base and had four plate appearances in an extended spring training game at the club's Pirate City training complex in Bradenton, Fla.