Pirates starter Gerrit Cole has been dealing with shoulder fatigue and has been placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 4, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. As a result, the Pirates have moved Charlie Morton’s start back a day. Rather than starting this afternoon, Morton will start in Cole’s place on Monday, reports Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Pirates have called up Jeff Locke from Triple-A Indianapolis to make today’s start.
As Sawchik pointed out, Cole’s velocity declined in the last inning of his last start against the Padres. Brooks Baseball confirms, showing that Cole sat 95-98 MPH in the first inning but was 91-95 in the sixth inning.
Cole, 23, has pitched well for the Pirates in his sophomore season. The right-hander has a 3.64 ERA with a 69/25 K/BB ratio in 76 2/3 innings.
