Pirates recall Ronny Simon from Triple-A on Sunday

This is the first time this season that Reynolds is not in the starting lineup. Instead, Jake Mangum will start in left field, and Ronny Simon will stay in the lineup and play right field. It’s been a solid bounce-back season for Reynolds, but he’s hitting just .228 with three home runs in 61 games since the All-Star break, so he was probably overdue for a day off.

Simon finds himself back in the majors with Esmerlyn Valdez landing on the injured list with a hamstring strain. The 26-year-old has hit .281 (9-for-32) with two steals in 10 games for the Pirates this season. He’ll occupy a bench role for the final two weeks of the year.

Simon has hit .281/.324/.313 in limited time with the Pirates this year, but loses his roster spot to Ryan O’Hearn coming off the injured list. He’ll likely be the first player called up if the Pirates lose someone else to injury over the final weeks of the season.

This is a little bit of a surprise, if only because Simon had been playing pretty regularly since being called up 12 days ago. He hit .290/.333/.323 in nine games.

Simon put five balls in play tonight, none of them hit harder than 75.4 mph. However, he snuck a grounder down the third-base line for a two-run double in the first. The bunt with a man on first and none out in the third was also a thing of beauty; it would have been ruled a sac had he been thrown out, but he was going for a hit all of the way and successfully dragged the ball past the pitcher. Simon has now started three of four games since being recalled, playing right field twice and DHing once. His bat screams “26th man,” but if the Pirates keep using him, he might steal enough bases to offer something in deeper leagues.

Simon hit .330/.419/.470 with 33 stolen bases for Triple-A Indianapolis this season while playing mostly in the outfield. The 26-year-old is a switch-hitter and could begin taking some at-bats away from Esmerlyn Valdez, who has really been struggling of late.

Johnson was 7-for-19 in Spring Training with no homers or stolen bases, leaving him as a career .327/.411/.531 hitter in three years in big league camp. After hitting .272/.363/.382 for Double A Altoona last year as a 21-year-old, he’ll likely head to Triple-A Indianapolis in 2026.

Simon was non-tendered by the Pirates at the end of November, which is less than four months ago, and means the Pirates knew that at the time of that decision. He was then re-signed to a minor league deal in December, which cleared a spot on the 40-man roster. Simon is already swinging in the cage and could get into game action in early April, but he will likely start the season on the injured list.

Simon fortifies Pittsburgh’s bench depth heading into next season after being non-tendered last month. The 25-year-old former prospect hit .234/.299/.273 with seven RBI and one steal in 27 games this past season between the Pirates and Marlins. He figures to have a decent shot at making the club’s season-opening roster in a versatile utility role.

The Pirates’ only non-tenders were the four players they designated for assignment on Tuesday. Moreta spent considerable time in the minors after returning from Tommy John surgery last season, but he had a 3.24 ERA in 16 2/3 innings while in the majors. With his career 29% strikeout rate, there will be a lot of teams interested in him on a minor league deal.