The Pittsburgh Pirates received some bad news just before the start of the 2019 season after they learned that their starting right fielder will miss 4-6 weeks with a broken finger.
Lonnie Chisenhall, acquired by Pittsburgh during the offseason as a free agent after playing eight seasons with the Cleveland Indians.
The Pirates’ normal starting right fielder, Gregory Polanco, is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury. Chisenhall was signed in November to replace Polanco as the Pirates’ starting right fielder during his absence.
Chisenhall suffered a broken right index finger after being hit by a pitch in the Pirates’ Spring Training game on Monday. This injury puts the Pirates in an injury hole, as Chisenhall becomes the sixth player currently on the team’s DL.
Chisenhall has never been a superstar, but his .268 career batting average and 64 home runs in 688 career games suggested that he would be a capable replacement in right field during the Pirates in the short term.
Instead, they got the bad news that he won’t even be able to help their team until early May, at the earliest.
The team added Melky Cabrera to the roster on Thursday, and he is expected to start in right field until Chisenhall’s return.
