PITTSBURGH — There are three types of players that can benefit the most from going to winter ball in the off-season. Guys that are working on a specific element to their game, guys that have lost time to injury or guys that just need continued at-bats.
Rookie infielder Chase d’Arnaud falls into all three of those categories.
“He missed time to injury this year, not a ton, but enough that he missed time,“ General Manager Neal Huntington said. “We’re working on some offensive maturation, some growth and development, some defensive maturation, growth and development. There could be some significant benefits.”
Since coming off the disabled list on August 25th with a right pinky fracture, d’Arnaud has gone just 2-for-23 at the plate.
“It has been hard offensively, the game has been hard,” Manager Clint Hurdle said. “Once we get him on base, it’s been really, really good. But that’s where the disconnect has been. He’s working on making some adjustments. He’s heading to winter ball. I’m not sure where yet, but he’s going.”
“He needs to make some adjustments on the offensive side of it. Some success in Triple-A, up here, some exposure.”
d’Arnaud is batting just .200 on the season and has struck out 32 times in 37 games.
“Pain brings immediate attention to a specific area,” Hurdle said. “There’s some guys out there feeling some pain. As far as sporting pain and the challenges that come with the dynamics of playing the game. With d’Arnaud, it’s about establishing a consistent point of contact of impact of a baseball, hitting against his front leg, not sliding forward underneath, recognizing spin, all of those things up here than can be dynamic and challenging.”
His results were much better when he was getting everyday playing time, both in Triple-A and with the Pirates when Ronny Cedeno was sidelined. Since then, with limited playing time, it’s been a struggle for d’Arnaud.
“It’s always a challenge for any player, to try to switch into a part time role” Huntington said. “Some guys do it quite well, it’s an art. How do you stay prepared? How do you not overwork? How do you not under work? How do you flip the switch when its time to pinch hit in the7th inning, or going in as a defensive switch or a Sunday day game start? Some guys have a difficult time with that. It’s all part of the learning curve. It’s all part of the maturation process…It’s a challenge for any player, and in Chase’s case its been a challenge for him as well.”
“He’s a fighter,” Hurdle said. “I just think it’s something he’s going to have to fight through.”
Photo credit: Yahoo! Sports
Discussion about this post