Pittsburgh Pirates Utility Player Undergoes Surgery

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced today that second baseman/outfielder Kevin Kramer underwent right hip surgery. The news was first announced by Adam Berry of MLB.com on Twitter.

Kevin Kramer underwent right hip surgery, per the Pirates, with a projected return to full baseball activities in 4-6 months.

Team says the procedure was a labral repair "to address recent and chronic symptoms that prohibited Kramer from continuing his training" for the season.

— Adam Berry (@adamdberry) May 20, 2020

The expected recovery for this procedure is between four to six months. In the best case scenario, Kramer would return to normal baseball activities within four months. If there happens to be a setback, then that timetable would likely push back closer to the six-month benchmark.

With the current uncertainty regarding whether the 2020 MLB regular season will happen, now is the right time for Kramer to get this surgery performed. If there isn’t a season this year, then Kramer can recover and return to full health for 2021. On the other hand, if there is a season this year, then Kramer likely won’t play for a large part of the year.

Kevin Kramer Career

Kevin Kramer is a fringe second baseman, outfielder and pinch hitter for the Pirates. Kramer, who is currently 26 years old, originally made his MLB debut on September 5th, 2018 against the Cincinnati Reds.

Since then, Kramer has played in 90 games and recorded 90 plate appearances. Over that span, the left-handed hitter recorded a slash line of .152/.222/.165 with 12 hits, one double, nine RBI, eight walks, and 37 strikeouts. From a Runs Above Average standpoint, that equates to a value of -12.

Given that the Pirates would likely once again be in a rebuild this year, Kramer was another option for the team as a utility guy. Given his career stats, it’s very unlikely that Kramer would be a starter for the team. However, depth is always a good thing and that’s exactly how Pittsburgh would utilize Kramer on their roster.

Final Thoughts

The surgery is something that needed to be done. For Kramer, the best news would be a short recovery period and return to baseball activities sooner than expected. For the Pirates, getting Kramer back and in baseball form would be a welcome sight from a depth perspective.

Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images