It’s been nearly five weeks since Pirates’ right-hander Jameson Taillon underwent surgery for testicular cancer. While the news came as a shock to both Taillon and the Pirates’ organization, the 25-year-old righty appears to have made a full and rapid recovery after several weeks of treatment and rehab outings. The club activated him from the disabled list on Saturday and is expected to play him when the Rockies come to town for a three-game set on Monday.
Taillon is in his sophomore season with the Pirates and tossed 35 1/3 innings with a 3.31 ERA, 3.3 BB/9 and 7.6 SO/9 before hitting the disabled list. He was treated for suspected testicular cancer in early May, a diagnosis that was confirmed when his pathology report came back positive for cancer the following week. Over the last month, he was cleared to resume baseball activities and has pitched through 14 innings with 13 hits, six runs and 21 strikeouts over three rehab starts in Triple-A Indianapolis and Double-A Altoona.
Prior to the Pirates’ matinee on Saturday, Taillon spoke to the media about his upcoming start, telling reporters, “I really want to be a pitcher again. [I] just want to be a guy on the team, making starts and doing my job.” His full comments are below:
Fellow right-hander Tyler Glasnow has been optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis to clear roster space for Taillon. Glasnow went 1-5 in Taillon’s absence, pitching to an 8.56 ERA with 42 hits, 29 runs and 22 strikeouts in six starts.
