Billy

Cook

Cook went 2-for-6 with a run scored over three games with the Pirates while veteran Bryan Reynolds was away from the club on paternity leave. The 26-year-old rookie heads back to the minors for now, but he could get another look at some point later this year.

Cook is up with Bryan Reynolds on the Paternity List, and he’s also right into the starting lineup. He could likely be sent back down when Reynolds returns later this week, so he’s not worth chasing in fantasy leagues right now.

Cook joins the Pirates ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Marlins with Bryan Reynolds heading out on paternity leave for a couple days. It figures to be a short stint in the big leagues for the versatile 26-year-old, who got into 16 contests last year for Pittsburgh. He’s hit .271 with zero homers and 10 steals in 61 games this season at the Triple-A level.

The 26-year-old is the Pirates’ 18th-ranked prospect. He’s slashing .271/.353/.335 with 20 RBI, 23 runs scored and 10 steals in 61 games at Triple-A this season. He has played first base and all three outfield positions in the minors this season and will likely be taking the place of Bryan Reynolds, who is headed to the Paternity List. As a result, this might not be a long stay for Cook.

Neither Cook or Yorke did enough to earn a spot on the Pittsburgh bench, but both could be up-and-down options for the Pirates depending on how others perform and/or injuries. Yorke is still worth keeping an eye on in keeper leagues.

Cook is just 3-for-16 this spring, but he has walked seven times. The 26-year-old righty had appeared to be in line for a spot on the Pirates bench before the team added Tommy Pham in free agency. He remains one of the candidates to fill in for Spencer Horwitz at first at the beginning of the season, but he probably doesn’t have a role on a healthy Pirates roster.

Joe, who figured to make around $3 million in arbitration, exits after hitting .238/.330/.396 over 888 plate appearances in two seasons with the Pirates. The numbers would have been better if the Pirates had limited him more to playing against southpaws, but they liked to turn to him too often. It seems likely that Billy Cook will take his spot as a first baseman and corner outfielder against lefties.

Cook extended the Pirates’ lead in the fifth inning with a two-run homer off Luis Gil for his only hit of the game. The 25-year-old has flashed some decent pop with three homers over 45 plate appearances, but has struck out 17 times with no walks while slashing .222/.222/.444.

Peguero was called up from the minors on Tuesday following the controversial release of Rowdy Tellez. He has since started two games at shortstop with Isiah Kiner-Falefa moving to third base and Jared Triolo moving to first. We should expect that to be the lineup for the final few games of the season, which gives Peguero some value in deeper formats and means that Billy Cook seems to have lost his starting spot.

Cook got the start in center field on Wednesday and slugged his first career homer off Sonny Gray, a three-run blast in the sixth inning to give the Pirates the lead. He added a base hit to lead off the ninth. The 25-year-old outfielder is 5-for-24 in his first big-league action.