Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang suffered a knee injury Thursday against the Chicago Cubs and will miss the rest of the season after having surgery to repair a displaced lateral tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus repair, per the team. The recovery timeline is six-to-eight months.
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Kang Suffers Serious Knee Injury on Slide
Thursday, Sept. 17
Buster Olney of ESPN reported Kang was holding his knee after a takeout slide from the Cubs' Chris Coghlan. Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review added the infielder was helped off the field and wasn't putting any weight on his leg.
Josh Yohe of DKonPittsburghSports.com reported Kang went to the hospital for an MRI. MLB.com provided video of the collision.
Kang issued a statement regarding the play with Coghlan through his agent, via the Pirates:
The Pirates are in the thick of a playoff race in the National League, and this injury will prove costly. Pittsburgh signed him this offseason from the Korea Baseball Organization to bolster its infield depth, and he has already surpassed expectations in his first major league season.
He has the versatility to play third base or shortstop, although the Pirates have primarily used him at short down the stretch. Kang also filled in admirably and kept the offense rolling when Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer dealt with injuries of their own earlier in the season.
Kang hits for average and power and is a solid option in the field, especially now that he is more accustomed to the major league level. Michael Baumann of Grantland pointed out just how important he is for the Pirates:
It’s not just that Kang has played as well as could have been expected; it’s also the manner in which he’s done so. Kang doesn’t really have a lot of anything, but he’s got a little of everything. He can play any position on the infield and hit in any spot in the lineup without looking out of place. He hits lefties better, but he hits righties just fine. Kang has turned into the National League’s Ben Zobrist, and when the competition gets tougher and benches get shorter in the playoffs, such players become force multipliers.
Fortunately for Pittsburgh, it still has enough pieces across the infield to cover for Kang.
Aramis Ramirez and Harrison are both proven veterans at third base. Mercer and even Sean Rodriguez can fill in at short if needed. Remember, this Pittsburgh team made the postseason in 2013 and 2014 without Kang’s services, and it should be able to do so again in 2015 without him.
However, Kang's injury could open the door for the Cubs to pass the Pirates for the first wild-card spot, which would give Chicago home-field advantage in the Wild Card Game.
The Pirates will lean more on their pitching in the meantime, with Gerrit Cole anchoring the staff and Mark Melancon locking games down at the end of the bullpen as they chase a playoff spot.
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