PITTSBURGH — The Pirates have two of their starting outfielders on the bench, and top prospect Austin Meadows in the minor leagues.

What’s up with that?

Starling Marte (hand) and Corey Dickerson (hamstring) were again absent from the starting lineup Friday against the New York Mets.

Jordan Luplow started in left field, and Sean Rodriguez took Marte’s spot in center field.

Why not bring up Meadows from Class AAA Indianapolis?

Manager Clint Hurdle indicated that could be a possibility depending on the training staff’s evaluation of the injuries to Marte and Dickerson.

“We’ll wait and find out,” Hurdle said. “We’ve never thrown a guy on the DL without giving him a couple of days to work through it. These situations aren’t any different than any we’ve had in the past.”

It’s clear the Pirates would prefer to avoid putting either starting outfielder on the disabled list.

Dickerson reported discomfort in his hamstring after running down the line Monday in Cleveland. He has not played since. Marte took a pitch off his left hand and wrist in his first plate appearance in Wednesday’s game.

When Hurdle spoke to the media before Friday’s game, he had not had a chance to get an update from the trainers on either Dickerson or Marte.

Pending new information, he said he and general manager Neal Huntington would decide what to do.

“There will come a point where we need to make a decision,” Hurdle said. “Neal and I will have those discussions about who needs to be a guy called up in case somebody would go on the DL.”

At this point, it seems Dickerson is more of a candidate for the DL than Marte. Dickerson said he has still has some testing to do before he’s certain he can play.

“We have weeks left, not two or three days,” Dickerson said. “It’s hard (to sit out) but I’d rather be here for a majority of games than do something crazy and miss most of the rest of the season.”

Marte was hopeful of playing on Friday.

“It doesn’t hurt,” he said through an interpreter. “It’s more like a bother.”

Meadows was sent down to Indianapolis on July 15. He hit .243 (9-for-37) over his last 15 major league games before he went back to Indianapolis. He had one home run in his previous 110 at bats.

Roster move

The Pirates recalled right-handed reliever Alex McRae from Indianapolis and optioned Michael Feliz to Class AAA.

Feliz was one of the four players acquired from Houston in January’s Gerrit Cole trade. The Pirates hoped he would fill one of the key set-up spots in the bullpen, but he has struggled for much of the season.

Feliz has pitched in 39 games and has an 0-2 record and 5.53 earned run average and 1.50 WHIP. In 40ª innings, he allowed 18 walks with 47 strikeouts and gave up five home runs.

McRae was with the Pirates briefly this season without getting into his first major league game.

Growing on you

Luplow hasn’t been considered a prime prospect, but Hurdle said he’s may exceed expectations.

“He’s the kind of guy that if you watch him for a series, you go, ‘OK, he’s pretty good,'” Hurdle said. “You watch him for a week (and say), ‘He might be better than that.’ You watch him for a month (and say), ‘Hey, he’s a good player.'”

Hurdle said sometimes players get evaluated, and their performance causes those opinions to be revised.

“Sometimes you need a pencil with an eraser,” he said. “Some players get better over time. That’s why I enjoy the game so much. People show you what they can do.”

Mehno can be reached at johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com