Pirates Promote Esmerlyn Valdez
May 22nd: The Bucs have made it official, announcing they have realled Valdez and optioned Cook.
May 21st: The Pirates are going to promote first base/outfield prospect Esmerlyn Valdez, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. Fellow outfielder Billy Cook will be optioned as the corresponding active roster move, per DK Pittsburgh Sports. Valdez, who will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game, is already on the 40-man roster.
Valdez was an international signing out of the Dominican Republic, securing a $130K bonus. He has since been climbing the minor league ladder with a pretty heavy three-true-outcomes approach. He can draw walks and hit the ball over the fence but can also be vulnerable to strikeouts, though he has shown improvement in terms of the punchouts.
Last year, Valdez split his time between High-A and Double-A, hitting 26 home runs in 529 plate appearances. He drew free passes in 10.6% of those trips to the plate. His 24.6% strikeout rate was a bit high but a notable decrease from the 30.6% rate he posted in Single-A the year prior. He finished 2025 with a combined .286/.376/.520 line and 155 wRC+. He got some help from a .344 batting average on balls in play but it was a strong showing regardless.
The Pirates added him to their 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. Baseball America ranked him the #11 prospect in the system coming into this year, noting that he’s not a strong runner or defender. Here in 2026, he’s been in Triple-A and has been posting really strong results. In 194 plate appearances, he has a huge 17% walk rate and a 21.1% strikeout rate. He has already hit ten home runs. His .253/.381/.506 line leads to a 131 wRC+. BA recently bumped him to #5 in the system.
Pittsburgh opened the year with Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds in two outfield spots. With Spencer Horwitz at first base and Marcell Ozuna the designated hitter most days, Ryan O’Hearn was spending most of his time in an outfield corner. Jake Mangum and a few others also chipped in from time to time. O’Hearn hit the IL a few days ago due to a quad strain, which opened up some playing time. The Bucs already recalled Jhostynxon García and are now adding Valdez into the mix as well.
It’s unclear how the Bucs will divvy up the playing time now. Both García and Valdez are righties, so perhaps there will be some platoon situations at play. Cruz is a lefty and has notable platoon splits in his career but reverse splits in 2026. Reynolds and Mangum are switch hitters with fairly neutral career splits.
Horwitz is a lefty and is usually platooned, so perhaps Valdez will see most of his playing time at first base. The Bucs had been using O’Hearn at first base for a lot of the games starting by a left-handed opponent, with Mangum taking O’Hearn’s spot in the outfield in those instances. Perhaps García and Valdez will combine to pick up O’Hearn’s slack in that dual outfield/first base role. Infielder Jared Triolo, who hits right-handed, recently picked up a few outfield starts but that might be less necessary now.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
2026-27 Club Options: NL Central
In recent weeks, MLBTR has looked forward to next winter’s option classes. We’ll move now to the NL Central, where the Cubs have a number of low-cost options to weigh.
Previous: AL East, AL Central, AL West, NL East
Chicago Cubs
- Matthew Boyd, LHP: $15MM mutual option ($2MM buyout)
Mutual options are essentially never exercised, so Boyd will be paid the $2MM buyout and return to free agency next winter. That’ll conclude a two-year, $29MM free agent deal that worked out well. Boyd’s 3.21 ERA over 31 starts a year ago essentially paid for the contract on its own.
The second season isn’t going as planned. Boyd missed a couple weeks in April with a biceps strain and suffered a more significant meniscus injury in his left knee earlier this month. He underwent surgery that’ll keep him out into late June at the earliest. The Cubs probably aren’t keen on their end of the option.
- Hunter Harvey, RHP: $8MM mutual option ($1MM buyout)
Chicago added Harvey on a one-year, $6MM deal in December. The talented but oft-injured reliever only pitched four times before landing on the injured list with triceps inflammation. Further testing this month revealed a stress reaction that’ll keep him down for a while. This will be an easy pass for the team.
- Carson Kelly, C: $7.5MM mutual option ($1.5MM buyout)
Kelly has outperformed his two-year, $11.5MM deal signed in December 2024. Initially brought in as a veteran complement to Miguel Amaya, the 31-year-old Kelly has earned the majority of the playing time. He’s a .261/.344/.421 hitter with 19 homers over his season-plus in Chicago. He’s fourth among primary catchers this season with a .381 on-base percentage. Kelly has a strong case for another two-year contract at a better annual rate than the option price, so his camp should have an easy time passing.
- Colin Rea, RHP: $7.5MM club option ($1MM buyout)
Rea, a 35-year-old swingman, is in the second season of his second stint with the Cubs. He’s clearly a favorite of skipper Craig Counsell, who also managed him in Milwaukee in 2021 and ’23. Rea pitched pretty well last season, managing a sub-4.00 ERA while starting 27 of 32 games. The Cubs had a $6MM team option for 2026, but the sides agreed to a restructured extension that guaranteed Rea $6.5MM in exchange for the righty tacking on a similarly priced club option for 2027.
Injuries again quickly pushed Rea from long relief into a back-end rotation spot. He hasn’t performed as well as he did last season, allowing nearly five earned per nine across 47 frames. Rea had consecutive quality starts against the Phillies in mid-April but has surrendered a 7.04 ERA over his past five times out.
Rea’s strikeout, walk and home run rates are all virtually identical to last season’s. There haven’t been any meaningful changes to his pitch mix or velocity. He’s essentially the same pitcher, with this year’s ERA spike mostly due to a higher average on balls in play. That’s always a risk for a pitcher like Rea who pounds the strike zone but doesn’t have overpowering stuff.
The Cubs will presumably look for a rotation upgrade or two in July that can push him back into a relief role. A buyout seems likelier than them picking up the option, though it wouldn’t be a surprise if they try to bring him back a slightly lower price given his flexibility in usage.
- Caleb Thielbar, LHP: $6MM mutual option ($500K buyout)
Chicago brought back Thilebar on a $4.5MM deal after he worked 58 innings of 2.64 ERA ball in 2025. The southpaw is making $4MM this year and will earn a $500K buyout at season’s end. He missed just under a month with a left hamstring strain and has been limited to 12 appearances. Thilebar has recorded 11 punchouts while allowing four runs (three earned) across 9 2/3 innings. The Cubs will probably pass on their end but could have interest in keeping Thielbar around for his age-40 season at slightly less money.
- Jacob Webb, RHP: $2.5MM club option (no buyout)
The Rangers surprisingly non-tendered Webb after he turned in 66 innings with an even 3.00 earned run average. Chicago signed him to a $1.5MM free agent deal that includes a $2.5MM team option for 2027. The righty has been a nice addition to Counsell’s middle relief corps, striking out a quarter of opponents with a 3.05 ERA over 20 2/3 innings. He’s getting swinging strikes and chases off the plate at career-best rates.
Webb has allowed right around three earned runs per nine in three straight seasons. His market has never really materialized, but a $2.5MM option is cheap enough that the Cubs would very likely bring him back if he keeps this pace all year.
The Cubs hold a $3.3MM club option on RHP Javier Assad. He’ll remain eligible for arbitration through at least 2028 even if the option is declined.
Cincinnati Reds
- Pierce Johnson, RHP: $8MM mutual option ($1.5MM buyout)
Cincinnati picked up Johnson on a one-year, $6.5MM deal after the Braves bought him out. The veteran righty has allowed eight runs over 19 1/3 innings with league average strikeout and walk numbers. His 9.3% swinging strike rate is a career low. Johnson is an MLB-caliber arm but more of a middle reliever than a setup man at age 35. An $8MM option price is too rich on the Reds’ end.
- Eugenio Suárez, DH/3B: $16MM mutual option
Cincinnati brought Suárez back on a one-year, $15MM deal late in the winter. It looked like a nice bargain pickup for a team that needed offense. Suárez’s age evidently tamped down long-term interest, but he hit 49 home runs a year ago. The return has started slowly, as he hit .231/.300/.363 through 100 plate appearances before sustaining a left oblique strain that sent him to the injured list. He began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville yesterday.
The Reds will also pay a $3MM buyout to released infielder Jeimer Candelario.
Milwaukee Brewers
- Luis Rengifo, 3B: $10MM mutual option ($1.5MM buyout)
Milwaukee bought low on Rengifo with a $3.5MM deal in Spring Training. He’s making a $2MM salary and due a $1.5MM buyout on a $10MM mutual option. They haven’t gotten anything close to the desired bounce back. The switch-hitting utilityman carries a .199/.262/.257 line without a home run over 150 plate appearances. Third base feels like a priority for the Brewers at the deadline, at which point they could move on from Rengifo entirely.
- Gary Sánchez, C: Mutual option
The terms of Sánchez’s mutual option were never reported. He signed a $1.75MM guarantee to return to Milwaukee as a backup catcher/part-time DH. Although Sánchez is only hitting .198, he has walked 20 times and hit five home runs in 108 plate appearances. The Brewers will eventually want a look at prospect Jeferson Quero, but William Contreras will be an offseason trade candidate with free agency looming after 2027. They could look to keep Sánchez around as a cheap #2 catcher.
Milwaukee holds a $14.5MM club option on C William Contreras for his final season of arbitration. He’ll remain under team control if Milwaukee declines.
Pittsburgh Pirates
- Marcell Ozuna, DH: $16MM mutual option ($1.5MM buyout)
Pittsburgh added Ozuna late in the offseason on a $12MM deal. It didn’t make much sense at the time since it locked all of Ryan O’Hearn, Brandon Lowe and Spencer Horwitz into defensive spots without a fallback at designated hitter. Ozuna was also coming off a mediocre second half and playing in one of the toughest home parks for right-handed power.
Ozuna had an atrocious April. He’s at least drawing a lot of walks in May, but his season .179/.275/.305 line isn’t cutting it. It goes without saying that the Pirates aren’t exercising a $16MM option. The bigger question is whether they’ll keep Ozuna on the roster all year.
St. Louis Cardinals
- Dustin May, RHP: $20MM mutual option ($500K buyout)
May commanded a surprisingly strong $12.5MM guarantee despite coming off a 4.96 ERA season between the Dodgers and Red Sox. He’s making a $12MM salary and will collect a $500K buyout on the $20MM mutual option at season’s end. May has stayed healthy and taken all nine turns through the rotation, but he’ll take a 4.81 ERA into today’s start against the Pirates. His strikeout and whiff rates are well below average despite his 97 mph fastball. While May’s power stuff and early-career success have continued to intrigue teams, the recent performance has been that of a fifth starter. The Cardinals aren’t signing up for a $20MM option.
- Ryne Stanek, RHP: $6MM club option (no buyout)
St. Louis added the hard-throwing Stanek on a $3.5MM deal in January. They wanted an experienced leverage arm who could compete for the closing role and potentially be a midseason trade asset. Riley O’Brien seized the ninth inning, leaving Stanek alongside JoJo Romero and George Soriano in the setup group.
Stanek continues to sit around 98 mph and generate above-average strikeout and whiff rates. His already problematic control has pushed even further, though, and he’s walking nearly 18% of opposing hitters. It’s the third-highest mark among pitchers with at least 20 innings. The free passes have resulted in a 6.30 ERA over 23 appearances. Teams are inclined to bet on pitchers with this kind of stuff, but Stanek will need a better second half to convince the Cardinals (or a potential midseason trade partner) to bring him back for $6MM.
- Ramón Urías, 3B: $4MM mutual option ($500K buyout)
St. Louis added Urías on a $2MM free agent deal during Spring Training. He’s making $1.5MM in salary and will be paid a $500K buyout. Urías limped to a .158/.279/.316 start over 25 games before landing on the injured list with tennis elbow.
Pirates Getting Jared Triolo Work In Right Field
Pirates utilityman Jared Triolo is on the roster largely because of his defensive versatility and aptitude around the infield. He’s seen time at all four infield spots over the years and is generally regarded as a quality defender. The Bucs have recently began to expand that defensive portfolio even further. Triolo has logged time in right field in each of his past three games — two of them starts. He was out of the lineup tonight against the Cardinals.
Triolo had never started a major league game in the outfield prior to this past weekend. He made seven starts in center at the Double-A level in 2022 and logged six innings in right field (two in the majors, four in Triple-A) from 2024-25. That represented the entirety of his professional in-game experience in the outfield until Monday’s start on the grass, though Triolo says he’s been working with coaches Tony Beasley and Tarrik Brock on the side (link via Danny Demilio of Pittsburgh Baseball Now).
It’s always of some note when a player can expand his defensive versatility, and there’s reason to think Triolo can provide solid glovework in the outfield. Statcast places him in the 84th percentile of big leaguers in terms of sprint speed, so he certainly has the ability to cover ground. His average velocity on his throws across the diamond from the hot corner is below average but not egregiously so.
For the Bucs, if Triolo proves capable of playing the outfield on even an occasional basis, there’d be plenty of roster advantages. Many clubs use the DH spot to rotate players and maximize matchups, but Pittsburgh signed Marcell Ozuna to DH on an everyday basis, so it’s all the more important that their bench players have multiple positions in their skill set. Ozuna has struggled badly this year, but even if the Pirates move on and go with a more rotational approach, Triolo playing a decent corner would give them more flexibility with regard to how they round out their bench and even who they could target as the trade deadline approaches.
In the more immediate sense, Triolo’s outfield experiment gives skipper Don Kelly additional options to consider when navigating what’s expected to be a roughly monthlong absence for slugger Ryan O’Hearn, who’s spent the bulk of his time in right field this year. Prospect Jhostynxon Garcia is likely to get plenty of chances out there in O’Hearn’s absence, but Triolo makes a nice righty-swinging complement to Jake Mangum among the team’s reserve options; he hit .275/.339/.459 in 122 plate appearances against lefties last season.
It’d behoove Triolo to increase his overall productivity at the plate, however. He’s received sparse playing time in 2026 and slashed just .259/.310/.296 in 59 plate appearances. In parts of four seasons with the Pirates, he’s stepped into the batter’s box 1090 times and delivered a tepid .238/.320/.344 line (86 wRC+). But if there’s not much more in the tank, adding outfield to his skill set also benefits him as he approaches arbitration this winter and potentially exhausts his remaining option years. Triolo hasn’t been sent down in 2026 but has just one minor league option year remaining. If he’s sent down for 20 days at any point this season, he’ll need to stick on the roster in subsequent seasons or else be designated for assignment.
Pirates Recall Jhostynxon García
May 19: The Pirates announced that García has indeed been recalled from Triple-A. He’s in line to make his team debut as soon as tonight.
May 18, 9:52am: While García is expected to be promoted, Hiles adds in a follow-up report, the Pirates have been considering one other player as well. A decision has not yet been finalized.
8:55am: The Pirates are set to recall outfielder Jhostynxon García from Triple-A Indianapolis, reports Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Bucs are off today, so the move won’t be official until tomorrow’s road date with the division-rival Cardinals in St. Louis. The Pirates already optioned infielder/outfielder Nick Yorke to Indianapolis following yesterday’s game.
García, 23, was acquired from the Red Sox in the offseason trade sending Johan Oviedo to Boston. “The Password” ranked on various top-100 prospect list during the 2025 season but has slipped a bit; he’s still a generally well-regarded outfield prospect who’s bounced back from an awful start to his 2026 season to catch fire.
Despite an eye-popping spring with the Pirates in which he batted .405/.463/.595 in 41 plate appearances, García opened the season in the minors. The Pirates had Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds and Ryan O’Hearn locked into outfield spots and Marcell Ozuna at designated hitter. The Bucs understandably wanted García getting everyday reps rather than sparse playing time on the bench when he’s still in his formative, developmental years. The situation is a bit different now, with O’Hearn hitting the injured list over the weekend and Ozuna having struggled through an awful 39-game stretch to begin his season (.182/.271/.311).
García himself opened the season mired in a 1-for-27 slump through his first 29 trips to the batter’s box. He broke out with a three-hit game on April 5 and hit safely in six of seven games before landing on the minor league injured list due to a back injury. García rehabbed with the Pirates’ Class-A club for a few days in early May, then erupted with a 5-for-5, three-homer outburst in his return to the Triple-A lineup last month. Overall, since that three-hit game in early April, he’s slashed .324/.365/.632. It’s only 68 total plate appearances — a handful of them in A-ball — but it’s clear that García has broken out of that early-season slump.
For the Pirates, the inverse is true. Pittsburgh was swept by their intrastate rivals over the weekend, dropping three straight to Philadelphia by scores of 11-9, 6-0 and 6-0. The Pirates were 16-11 back on April 25 and have gone 8-12 since. They’re still a game over .500, at 24-23, but they’ve five games back of the Cubs for the NL Central lead and 3.5 games out in the NL Wild Card hunt.
García should jump into the mix and get everyday at-bats, likely in right field in place of O’Hearn. Jake Mangum can float between all three outfield spots as needed. If García is hitting well when O’Hearn is ready to return from the injured list, that could put some pressure on Ozuna — at least as long as the rest of the roster is healthy. Reynolds, Cruz and O’Hearn have been key cogs in a Pirates lineup that ranks sixth in the majors in runs scored (229), sixth in batting average (.248), fourth in on-base percentage (.332) and is tied for 13th in slugging percentage (.388). They’re not going to be displaced. O’Hearn can also play first base, but Spencer Horwitz is slashing .273/.383/.414, so he’s not going anywhere either.
García made his major league debut with the Red Sox last year, but he received only nine plate appearances and accrued just nine days of major league service time. There isn’t enough time left on the calendar for him to reach a full year of service in 2026, so he’ll be controllable all the way through 2032 in Pittsburgh. Future optional assignments could change that trajectory, of course. He’s in his second minor league option year and will have one remaining beyond the current season.
Pirates Place Ryan O’Hearn On 10-Day Injured List
The Pirates announced that first baseman/right fielder Ryan O’Hearn has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right quad strain. Outfielder Jake Mangum was activated from the 10-day IL in the corresponding move, and Mangum will take O’Hearn’s spot on the 26-man roster.
O’Hearn’s injury occurred in yesterday’s 6-0 Pirates loss to the Phillies. While playing first base in the top of the second inning, O’Hearn made a bit of an awkward move to avoid batter Alec Bohm on the baseline while chasing a pop-up in foul territory. O’Hearn completed the play, but then “every time I tried to do more than a walk or a slow jog, it just felt like my leg was grabbing on me,” as he told Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and other reporters. Jared Triolo replaced O’Hearn at first base prior to the top of the fourth inning.
An MRI was arranged for O’Hearn yesterday, and the tests revealed a strain serious enough to require an immediate placement on the IL. The Pirates don’t play on Monday, so while the team could perhaps have given O’Hearn a couple of days to rest before making a decision, the club has opted to start the clock on the IL stint right away.
The injury is a tough setback for both O’Hearn and the Pirates as a whole, as the veteran has been tremendous in his first season in Pittsburgh. O’Hearn signed a two-year free agent contract worth $29MM in guaranteed money, and he has thus far more than lived up to his end of the deal by hitting .289/.368/.459 with seven home runs in 182 plate appearances. O’Hearn has a 132 wRC+, which would be a career best for the 32-year-old if he managed to keep it up over the full season.
O’Hearn has primarily played right field for the Buccos, though he has often been shifted over to first base late in games. Now that Mangum is back from a minimal 10-day IL stint due to a hamstring strain, he should help fill the void in right field. Triolo, Nick Yorke, and Billy Cook could all get some time in right field while O’Hearn is out, with that same trio also candidates for part-time first base duty. Down at Triple-A, Jhostynxon Garcia is still waiting on his first MLB call-up since joining the Pirates last winter, but “the Password” hasn’t been hitting well.
A’s Acquire Alika Williams, Designate Michael Stefanic
The A’s announced that infielder Alika Williams was acquired in a trade with the Pirates in exchange for minor league righty Kyle Robinson. Infielder Michael Stefanic was designated for assignment to clear space for Williams on the Athletics’ 26-man and 40-man rosters, as the team officially selected Williams’ contract to the active roster.
Selected 37th overall by the Rays in the 2020 draft, Williams came to Pittsburgh in the June 2023 trade that brought Robert Stephenson to Tampa. Williams made his MLB debut in a Pirates uniform later that year, and went onto hit .202/.257/.271 over 208 plate appearances for the Buccos over the 2023-24 seasons. Pittsburgh designated Williams for assignment during the 2024-25 offseason and then outrighted him to Triple-A, where Williams hit an uninspiring .268/.329/.393 over 391 PA for Indianapolis during the 2025 campaign.
This year, Williams has hit .317/.385/.467 over 135 Triple-A plate appearances, representing one of the best offensive stretches of his pro career. Despite this hot bat, the Pirates apparently didn’t want to select Williams’ contract back to the 26-man roster just to be a bench guy, as Konnor Griffin and Brandon Lowe are the starting middle infielders, and Nick Gonzales and Jared Triolo are being used at third base.
There’s more of an opportunity for Williams in Sacramento, as both Jacob Wilson and Max Muncy are on the Athletics’ 10-day injured list. Williams could see time at shortstop when Darell Hernaiz isn’t at the position, and some second base at-bats could become available in Jeff McNeil‘s place when a left-hander is on the mound.
Stefanic signed a minor league deal with the A’s last winter, and his contract was selected in the wake of Wilson’s IL placement earlier this week. After all of two games in an Athletics uniform, Stefanic’s tenure with the club may already be over, if he is claimed away on waivers or if he elects free agency over an outright assignment if he clears waivers. Because Stefanic has been outrighted in the past, he now has the ability to reject any future outrights in favor of free agency, though he could opt to stay with the A’s if he feels he’ll get more big league opportunities down the road.
Though Stefanic has hit only .231/.315/.269 over 294 career PA with the Angels, Blue Jays, and Athletics, he had posted some big numbers at Triple-A in the past. Like Williams, Stefanic also has a wealth of experience at shortstop, second base, and third base, plus Stefanic has a handful of games as a first baseman and at both corner outfield positions.
Robinson is a 22-year-old righty who was an 11th-round pick for the A’s in the 2024 draft. The Texas Tech product pitched at both the high-A and Double-A levels last season, but returned to high-A Lansing this year to post a 3.62 ERA, 16.7% strikeout rate, and 11.4% walk rate across 27 1/3 innings. Robinson has started 27 of his 34 games as a professional, but he’ll need both miss more bats or improve his control to remain as any kind of a viable starter candidate.
Pirates Recall Brandan Bidois For MLB Debut
The Pirates have recalled right-hander Brandan Bidois from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned righty Cam Sanders back to Indy in his place. Bidois was already on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding moves are necessary. Bidois will join the Pittsburgh bullpen and make his major league debut the first time he takes the mound. The Bucs also placed catcher Joey Bart on the 10-day injured list with a left foot infection and recalled Endy Rodriguez in a corresponding move.
Bidois, 24, was an international signee out of Australia back in 2019. He’s sporting an unsightly 7.20 ERA in 15 Triple-A frames this season but has been dogged by a .371 average on balls in play despite holding opponents to a feeble 87.9 mph average exit velocity and an even weaker 34.2% hard-hit rate. Bidois hasn’t done himself any favors by walking 12.9% of his opponents, but his 32.9% strikeout rate is excellent and his power arsenal is impressive.
The Aussie-born righty works predominantly off a four-seamer/slider combination, sitting 96.5 mph with the former and 85.9 mph with the latter. He’ll mix in an occasional low-90s changeup but has only thrown that pitch at an 8.6% clip this year. Bidois touts a very strong 13.8% swinging-strike rate — about three percentage points north of the major league average — and has induced chases on nearly one in three pitches he’s thrown outside the strike zone.
Although this year’s results haven’t stood out, those under-the-hood traits are encouraging — as was Bidois’ dominant 2025 campaign. He tossed 61 innings across four minor league levels last year and logged a superlative 0.74 ERA with a 30% strikeout rate and 11.7% walk rate. That includes 13 shutout frames in Triple-A.
Pittsburgh’s bullpen has been a middle-of-the-pack unit on the season overall, sitting 17th in the majors with a 4.14 earned run average. The past couple weeks have been grueling, however. Over the past 14 days, Pirates relievers have coughed up 29 earned runs in 36 2/3 innings (7.12 ERA). After fanning nearly one quarter of opponents through the season’s first five weeks, they’ve managed to strike out only 17.8% of the batters they’ve faced in the past two weeks. Sanders, who’s yielded six runs in five innings during that rough patch, has contributed to the bullpen malaise for manager Don Kelly.
Pirates Re-Sign Ryan Harbin To Minor League Deal
The Pirates have re-signed right-hander Ryan Harbin to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has been assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis but likely won’t appear in a game for that club immediately due to injury.
Harbin, 24, was added to Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster in November. The Bucs didn’t want to lose him in the Rule 5 draft after an intriguing 2025 season. His 4.69 earned run average didn’t look great but there were other numbers with more allure. His 16% walk rate was way too high but he struck out 31.9% of opponents and induced grounders on 45.5% of balls in play. He got some bad luck from a .361 batting average on balls in play and 66.1% strand rate, which is why his 3.41 FIP was more than a run lower than his ERA.
He could have worked his way into a big league opportunity here in 2026 but that hasn’t played out so far, as he suffered a teres major injury in February. That injury came with a six-week shutdown period. He was placed on the 60-day injured list in the minors in mid-March.
In late April, the Pirates needed a 40-man spot for Chris Devenski. They could have recalled Harbin and put him on the 60-day IL in the majors, but doing so would have meant paying Harbin a big league salary and giving him major league service time. They decided to go another way, cutting him from the roster. Injured players can’t be put on outright waivers, so the Bucs had to release him.
That put them at risk of Harbin signing elsewhere, but it seems it worked out okay from the team’s perspective. The Pirates now get to keep him without using a roster spot and without paying him big league money. Once he recovers from his injury, he’ll look to get back on track and hopefully earn his way back onto the roster.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
Bob Skinner Passes Away
Bob Skinner, an All-Star left fielder and two-time World Series champion as a player, passed away on Monday at age 94. The Pirates announced the news this afternoon.
“As a member of the 1960 World Series championship team, Bob was an important part of one of the most beloved teams in our storied history and helped deliver a moment that will forever be woven into the fabric of our city,” Pirates owner Bob Nutting said in a press release. “Bob was a talented player, a proud Pirate and a respected member of the baseball community. On behalf of the entire Pirates organization, we extend our deepest condolences to Bob’s family, friends and all those who knew and loved him.”
Skinner played parts of 12 seasons in the big leagues, the majority of which came in Pittsburgh. A native of La Jolla, California, Skinner played a season at nearby San Diego Junior College. The Pirates had scouted him since high school and added him on a minor league deal in 1951. Skinner played one season in the minors before being drafted into the Marines during the Korean War. He was stationed in San Diego and played for his base team but was out of the professional ranks for two seasons.
After the conclusion of his service, Skinner returned to the Pirates for the 1954 season. He made his MLB debut that year but struggled as a rookie, leading the Bucs to send him back to the minors in ’55. Skinner made it back to the Majors one year later and finally settled in during his third MLB season, breaking out by hitting .305 in 1957.
Skinner took another step forward during the ’58 campaign. He hit .321/.387/.491 and drove in 70 runs to earn his first All-Star selection and some down ballot MVP support. That’d be his best statistical season, but the left-handed hitter returned to the All-Star Game in 1960. More importantly, the Pirates would go on to defeat the Yankees in a classic seven-game World Series for the franchise’s first championship in 35 years.
After a middling 1961 season, Skinner set a career high with 20 homers while batting .302 in 1962. The Pirates would trade him to the Reds a year later. Cincinnati dealt Skinner to the Cardinals midway through the ’64 campaign, a move that paid off handsomely for him personally. Although he was a role player by that point, he won his second career World Series when the Cards defeated the Yankees in another seven-game Fall Classic. Skinner went 3-4 as a pinch-hitter in that series (though all of his hits came in the St. Louis losses).
Skinner’s playing career ended after the 1966 season. That wasn’t close to the conclusion of his time in baseball, however. He jumped right into minor league managing and would up as an MLB skipper by 1968. The Phillies hired him to replace Gene Mauch midway through that season. Skinner himself was fired less than a year later as Philadelphia got out to a rough start to the ’69 campaign.
He had a brief stint as an interim manager with the Padres in 1977 but spent most of the decade as a hitting coach. That included a return to Pittsburgh in 1979, when the Bucs won another World Series. Skinner worked on the Braves’ coaching staff and as a minor league manager and scout with the Astros after that, remaining in baseball until 2009.
Skinner finished his playing career as a .277/.351/.421 hitter. He topped 100 home runs and tallied nearly 1200 hits while recording 531 runs batted in. MLB Trade Rumors sends our condolences to Skinner’s family — including his son Joel, a former MLB catcher and manager — loved ones, friends, and the countless people whose lives he impacted over his lengthy run in baseball.
MLB Issues Three-Game Suspension To Chris Devenski
Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that Pirates righty Chris Devenski has been given a three-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for what the league believes to have been intentionally throwing at Reds infielder Sal Stewart in Saturday’s game. That will go into effect tonight, unless Devenski files an appeal. He’d remain eligible to pitch while the appeal process plays out. Pittsburgh skipper Don Kelly also received a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine. He’s expected to serve his suspension tonight.
The incident Saturday occurred in a game the Pirates led 15-to-6 (video link). Stewart stepped into the batter’s box and called time just as Devenski was coming set. He stepped out briefly, and upon digging back in was greeted with a 92 mph waist-high sinker that tailed inside and nearly hit Stewart. Although he managed to jump out of the way, Stewart was clearly perturbed and barked at Devenski, who walked several steps toward home plate. The umpiring crew convened and ultimately ejected Devenski, prompting an angry visit from Kelly.
“Going hard in to start an at-bat,” Devenski said after the game when asked about the ejection (video link). “I know the guy likes to dive over [the plate]. That’s about it. Just trying to execute my pitch there, and I think he took it the wrong way. It is what it is, but I’m not going to back down from anything, either.”
Devenski plainly stated that the pitch wasn’t intentionally thrown at Stewart. “[I’ve] been around the game a long time … If I was going to do anything like that…” Devenski trailed off with a light chuckle, seemingly implying that the location might’ve been different had there been true intent behind the pitch. “Not in that situation. Just trying to get outs,” he added.
The Pirates only selected Devenski to the major league roster last Friday. He’d been pitching in Triple-A Indianapolis on a minor league contract and pitching quite well, allowing just one run with a 15-to-2 K/BB ratio in 10 2/3 innings. He’s pitched 2 2/3 frames with the big league club and allowed a pair of runs on five hits and no walks with three strikeouts.
Time will tell whether Devenski appeals and whether the suspension holds up. If he opts not to appeal, the Pirates will play a man down for the next three games. On the plus side, the ‘pen is very fresh after Braxton Ashcraft worked 7 2/3 brilliant innings Sunday and the team had an off day yesterday.