Jose Tabata to Rejoin Pittsburgh Pirates in St. Louis
By Matt Shetler
Outfielder Jose Tabata has become the forgotten man in the Pittsburgh Pirates outfield of the future, but Tabata could be getting another opportunity to prove himself as he will be joining the team Sunday in St. Louis, Kristy Robinson of Pirates Prospects reported.
With Neil Walker’s hand banged up, the Pirates bench was already thin to begin with. That was before both Jordy Mercer and Starling Marte left Saturday’s game against the Cardinals with injuries.
There’s been to announcement as of yet about a corresponding roster move, but you had to think a move or two was on the way.
Tabata, after a slow start in Triple-A after being demoted in July has rebounded to hit .297 in 41 games for the Indians.
For the Bucs, Tabata hit only .230 with 11 RBI in 72 games before his demotion. He also had the tendency to not run out ground balls or give maximum effort in the field. That’s was the part that irritated Pirates fans much more than the lack of production.
But now that Tabata will be back up, he’s going to have to produce whenever his number is called. He’s still a talented ballplayer who may have just needed a wake-up call. Hopefully he got it, because he’s now going to be thrown into the middle of a playoff chase.