Pirates A to Z: Max Kranick’s road to recovery involved rehab stints at Bradenton, Indianapolis

During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z, an alphabetical, player-by-player look at the 40-man roster.

Player: Max Kranick

Position: Pitcher

Throws: Right

Age: 26

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 220 pounds

2023 MLB statistics: None.

Contract: Not eligible for arbitration until 2025.

Acquired: Selected in the 11th round of the 2016 MLB Draft.

This past season: After missing the majority of the 2022 season following Tommy John surgery, Kranick’s focus this past summer was on his rehabilitation and return to the mound in the minors.

The road to recovery can be a lonely one, so with Kranick training at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla., the Pirates invited him to join them in Tampa Bay for their series at the Rays in early May so he could conduct his rehabilitation under their watch and reunite with his teammates.

“I think it’s important for any of our guys to feel part of the club,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We were able to do it because we were in Tampa and Bradenton being so close, but any time we can get those guys that are away from the club for an extended period of time, just to be around, it’s a brotherhood.

“You miss it when you’re not here, and definitely — being externally or being at Pirate City — you can get a little bit lonely and not feel like you’re part of the club.”

Kranick visited the Pirates again during a nine-game homestand in June at PNC Park, where he threw a bullpen session in front of their pitching coaches and sports medicine staff. It was a lead-in to the next step of his recovery, where he was scheduled to face hitters in a live batting practice.

“Being around the guys, feeling like you’re part of it again is really nice and refreshing for me,” Kranick said. “Now I’m at the end of my bullpen .buildup, so I think this timed out really well. I’m grateful to come up, and it’s a good little mental reset.”

Kranick’s return to the mound served as inspiration to several teammates who underwent surgery to repair damage to their ulnar collateral ligaments in their right elbows, as JT Brubaker, Vince Velasquez and top-10 prospect Mike Burrows followed his progress from afar.

On Aug. 13, Kranick finally made his first start since June 2022, pitching 1 1/3 innings for Low-A Bradenton against Fort Myers. It didn’t go well, as Kranick allowed six runs (five earned) on two hits, including a three-run home run, three walks, hit a batter and had runners steal five bases. In his second start, Kranick tossed three scoreless innings against Lakeland, giving up two hits and striking out two.

Kranick made seven starts at Triple-A Indianapolis, going 0-2 with a 2.76 ERA and 0.80 WHIP in 16 1/3 innings. He had a strong September, posting a 1.46 ERA and 0.57 WHIP while holding hitters to a .103 batting average in five starts.

“With Max, you really start to see the light at the end of the tunnel with that first rehab start,” Brubaker said. “I can only imagine what he was feeling that first start he had in Bradenton, then it just progressively gets more exciting when you go more innings at the next level, all the way up to Triple-A. Then you’re actually in your rehab assignment and it’s like, ‘OK, I’m almost finished with all of this stuff.’ For him, it’s just, ‘Do what I need to do, then next year it’s full go, ready to go and compete.’ He knows he’ll have, more likely, no innings limit.”

The future: On his weekly radio show on 93.7 The Fan on Sept. 3, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Kranick’s first few outings were “controlled for a reason,” keeping pitch counts at a minimum to control the volume as he retrained his elbow to pitch again.

Where Cherington warned that Kranick was “not quite the best version of himself yet,” he emphasized that the right-hander was a “healthy, active pitcher.”

That’s an important development for a Pirates starting rotation depleted by injury, as Brubaker and Burrows will likely miss the first half of the 2024 season and Johan Oviedo has elected to undergo Tommy John surgery in the coming weeks.

Kranick should be ready for spring training, which puts him in the mix for a spot in the starting rotation or bullpen.