Luke Weaver’s rough stretch with the Pittsburgh Pirates may have had a very different explanation than the box score suggested.
Since arriving in a trade deadline deal, Weaver hasn’t looked like the same pitcher, and he recently revealed there’s been a major off-field reason behind it. In an interview with Jose Negron of DK Pittsburgh Sports, Weaver said he has been dealing with a severe poison ivy reaction for nearly a month.
“I've had my own set of personal challenges over the last month, and I've kept them to myself, but at the end of the day, I've had almost a month worth of severe poison ivy,” Weaver said.
He described the reaction as far more than a minor annoyance.
“To the point where I've just been in hives over my entire lower body. I got it in Miami (three weeks ago), so shortly after getting here.
Brushed up against a bush and my body went into a really bad state. I've been fighting my own personal battle with sleep.
I haven't slept in about a month, I wake up a lot. But that's my own deal.
I'm trying to find ways every single day.”
The numbers on Weaver’s Pirates stint show the struggle. He has a 5.79 ERA with Pittsburgh, even though his underlying marks are much stronger, including a 2.02 FIP and 10.6 K/9.
All six of the earned runs he’s given up for the Pirates have come since he was in Miami between Aug. 11-13.
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