3:33 pm: Pittsburgh has officially selected Difo and placed González on the 10-day IL. Righty Trevor Cahill was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day IL to clear 40-man roster space for Difo. Cahill went on the IL with a left calf strain on June 12 that’ll apparently require an extended absence. He’s out for 60 days from the date of his original placement, so he won’t return until at least mid-August.
2:49 pm: The Pirates are planning to select the contract of Wilmer Difo, manager Derek Shelton told reporters (including Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Fellow utilityman Erik González is going on the 10-day injured list. A corresponding 40-man roster move to accommodate Difo’s selection is forthcoming.
Difo signed a minor league deal with Pittsburgh over the winter and earned a spot on the big league roster when Ke’Bryan Hayes landed on the injured list in early April. He wound tallying 87 plate appearances over the next couple months, hitting .244/.287/.366 while lining up at five defensive positions (including mop-up work as a pitcher). That’s right in line with the switch-hitter’s body of work as a depth option with the Nationals between 2015-20.
González has also bounced around the diamond this season, including picking up some extended run at third when Hayes was out of action. He’s not offered much at the plate, though, hitting just .232/.258/.300 over 229 trips to the dish before leaving yesterday’s game against the Brewers with right side discomfort.
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