Jason Mackey: Brandon Lowe appears to have avoided anything serious with knee

ATLANTA — It appears the worst-case scenario has been avoided with Brandon Lowe.

Meanwhile, Davis Wendzel joined the Pirates for their series finale Sunday against the Braves at Truist Park, while Jhostynxon Garcia was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Lowe left Saturday’s game in the ninth inning after he took a foul ball off the right knee. The Pirates second baseman said he was worried initially because he suffered a fractured right patella (kneecap) when the same thing happened on Sept. 21, 2023.

But a CT scan delivered positive results, Lowe said, and he's relieved he'll only have to navigate some soreness over the next few days.

"I think knock on wood, overall good news with Brandon," Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said on the Pirates Insider Show on 93.7 The Fan. "Tests last night were negative for any sort of fracture. He got hit pretty good. He’s pretty sore. So right now we’re looking at this as a day-to-day thing. Hopefully we’ll see him back in there against the Dodgers at some point."

Lowe avoiding a serious injury is obviously huge news for the Pirates. In his first season with the Pirates, Lowe is hitting .249 with an .848 OPS. He leads all MLB second basemen in home runs (15) and RBIs (41) and ranks second behind Milwaukee’s Brice Turang in OPS (.848).

If you were picking All-Stars from the Pirates’ season so far, Lowe would be on a very short list, his impact inside the clubhouse equally as meaningful.

As for Wendzel, he’s been having a solid season at Triple-A, hitting .246 with an .851 OPS in 54 games, with 14 doubles, a triple, nine home runs, 34 RBIs and 28 runs scored.

A competitive-balance-round pick of the Rangers (41st overall) in 2019, Wendzel played 24 MLB games for Texas in 2024. He’s appeared at every infield spot throughout his professional career and even saw some time in left and right field in the Minor Leagues this season.

"With Lowe not on the IL but banged up and not necessarily available [Sunday], wanted to protect that infield a little bit," Cherington said. "Also been looking for another option against left-handed pitching, someone who can play the infield but be an option against left-handed pitching.

"Davis has been one of our more consistent performers in Triple-A all year. He’s an experienced guy, a good baseball player."

To make room for Wendzel on the 40-man roster, the Pirates transferred Chris Devenski (illness) from the 15-day to the 60-day IL. Cherington said Devenski is throwing but that with his buildup, it made sense calendar-wise to use the 60.

Garcia has appeared in 13 games with the Pirates this season, hitting .200 with a .472 OPS. With Ryan O’Hearn back from his quad injury, outfield playing time was scarce. Which is likely why the Pirates wanted more infield assurance with Lowe banged up.

"We think Password can make a contribution this year," Cherington said. "It’s been harder to get him in the lineup, understandably. Donnie [Kelly] has a lot of options. It’s been a little bit harder to get him in the lineup consistently. He’s a really young, talented player. He’s had a little bit of a choppy start to the 2026 season with IL and things like that. We felt like we needed to get him playing every day."

Bart progressing

Cherington said Joey Bart (left foot infection) should start a rehab assignment this week. The catcher last played in a game on May 9.

Due to the nature of the injury, Cherington said the Pirates had to have Bart shut down activity completely, hence the longer timeline and why the rehab assignment might take a little more time than usual.

"Expect a rehab assignment at some time this week and expect we’d want to see him play a little bit on that rehab assignment, just so we can check all the boxes that we want a catcher to check," Cherington said. "But it’s good news. He’s headed in the right direction."

Cruz banged up

Oneil Cruz injured his hand sliding into home plate on Saturday, although Cherington doesn't think it will require a stint on the IL. Cruz was out of the lineup Sunday.

Like Lowe, Cherington said imaging on Cruz came back negative.

The Pirates have also seen Cruz taking better at-bats of late. Over his past 12 games, Cruz is hitting .342 with three home runs, 10 RBIs, 12 walks, five stolen bases, eight runs, a 1.089 OPS and 16 strikeouts.

"He’s been on a really nice run," Cherington said. "He’s drawn a lot of walks lately. That walk rate is creeping up toward where it was last year. If we can combine that with the better quality of contact that he’s shown this year, the consistency, we’ve got a really good hitter.

"To his credit, he’s been working on that. I think our hitting group has had a really good plan for him in terms of the approach. Keeping it really simple, but he’s training it every day. There are pitch locations and shapes he’s looking for, whether it’s against lefties or righties. Doing a better job staying off when he doesn’t see it.

"I do think his teammates are helping him, too. In part because the lineup is deeper and a little less on his shoulders to carry. But I think the messaging is helping also. You have guys like Bryan Reynolds, Ryan O’Hearn, Lowe and certainly Marcell Ozuna. The kind of at-bats they have and just the communication that’s happening in the cage, understanding what the pitcher is trying to do to you. All of that’s adding up. It’s been a really good stretch. We’ll look to keep it going."

Griffin's timeline

The last bit of news involved a return timeline for Konnor Griffin, who has a flexor mass muscle strain in his right elbow.

Cherington said Griffin met with Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas before or during the Astros series. His assessment matched with that of Pirates' doctors, but after additional collaboration, a more relaxed timeline was determined.

Griffin has been taking ground balls in Atlanta but has not been throwing.

"It comes down to the specific location of the flexor mass strain," Cherington said. "Not every flexor mass muscle strain is the same. After more collaboration between the doctors and information shared, given the exact spot that Konnor has the muscle strain, we’re going to be a little bit more conservative on the timeline. That means I don’t have a timeline. Still believe he’s gonna be part of our team, part of our lineup for the biggest chunk of the season. We’re probably just adding some days onto what we maybe had thought at one point.

"The good news is based on the reports I’m getting, he’s almost completely asymptomatic at this point. That was gonna be the first step. Whenever that happens, when he’s fully asymptomatic, then he will advance into more full baseball activity, eventually get to throwing. You know Konnor. He’s going to attack this 100%. He’s gonna do everything he can to be back in the lineup as fast as he can. He’s also incredibly important, so we’re not going to take any risks."

Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.