CHICAGO — Jung Ho Kang is expected to rejoin the Pirates this weekend in Cincinnati and will be active for the final series of the season, positioning the third baseman to appear in his first major league game in nearly two years.
Kang, 31, played nine innings in a fall instructional league game at Pirate City on Wednesday and was expected to play again Thursday. He was limited to only 16 minor-league games, seven in Triple-A and nine for High-A Bradenton, because of an injury to his left wrist that required surgery.
The promotion will give the Pirates an opportunity to see Kang face major league pitching before they decide whether or not to pick up his $5.5 million club option for next season. He hasn't played in a game for the team since Oct. 2, 2016 and was denied a visa to re-enter the United States after being charged with a DUI in South Korea two months later.
"He’s continued to work hard and we’re running out of games," Neal Huntington told reporters before first pitch Thursday at Wrigley Field. "We’re a little uncomfortable bringing him up here after really five instructional league games, today being the fifth and final one, but we have only three games left in our season after today. Wanted to respect his hard work, his intent to get back, his work to get back, and see. It’s not really going to help us a lot in our evaluation process, as to where we take this, but at the same time give him an opportunity to get back to the big leagues, which is any guy’s goal."
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