The Pirates announced that right-hander Mike Burrows was called up to the active roster, while Jared Jones was optioned to the team’s Florida Complex League affiliate. Jones’ demotion is purely an on-paper move, as he made his last start of the 2024 season yesterday and has already amassed a full season of MLB service time in his rookie year.
Burrows was already on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster, and the 24-year-old now figures to make his big league debut in one of the Pirates’ two remaining games. An 11th-round pick in the 2018 draft, Burrows was making steady progress up the minor league ladder before a Tommy John surgery derailed his career in April 2023.
Starting a rehab assignment in June of this year, Burrows has a 5.26 ERA over 51 1/3 innings split across three minor league levels. The most relevant set of numbers are his 4.06 ERA, 26.6% strikeout rate, and 8.9% walk rate in 37 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level, with Burrows starting nine of his 10 games for Indianapolis. Burrows has only twice made it into the fifth inning in any of his outings since the Pirates have been limiting his workload, but he tossed 91 pitches in his last Triple-A start on September 22.
An appearance today or Sunday will officially make Burrows a Major League player, achieving one big milestone in his pro career. Heading into 2025, the Pirates have Jones, Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, and Bailey Falter lined up as the top four members of the rotation, leaving Burrows as one of several candidates battling for the fifth starter’s job or (perhaps more realistically) as a depth starter in Triple-A or as a swingman in the big league bullpen. Offseason signings or trades could further shake up the equation, like the trade deadline move that saw the Pirates swap righty Quinn Priester to the Red Sox for infielder Nick Yorke.
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
Noooo now jones has a demotion on his resume
TheMan 3
where do you see that at, sad? The article includes Jones as part of the pitching staff, his name just isn’t in red
YourDreamGM
“Jones’ demotion”
TheMan 3
the article was referring to next year’s rotation too
YourDreamGM
Sad was just making a sad attempt at humor.
New New Buccoprojectory
Sad to say no wonder your tormented. Or is it your take at sarcasm.
I’m glad to see Burrows up, but why now???
RevitalizedOldDude
To give him a whiff of MLB hitting. Nothing wrong with that
YourDreamGM
Ortiz is lined up as well and even more so than Falter. Falter is 5th best current option.
YourDreamGM
Next Pirates article I want to see is Cherington fired.
TheMan 3
and the article after that, they fire Shelton and his coaching staff
clean house, Bob Nutting!
YourDreamGM
Probably. Maybe a article both being fired. Or let new gm decide.
Cherington took most the blame. Not only said so but hus firing actions shown as much. Said he expects Shelton back next year. I pushed all in on Shelton. Don’t see how you fire Shelton without firing Cherington. If Cherington isn’t fired then Nutting is much dumber than I thought he was. A new manger will trick the weak minded into positive hope. But I will be saying Cherington needs fired the entire off season warning fans not to fall for the smoke and mirrors. But Cherington fired will be a refreshing clean start and give fans hope that maybe new gm can be better. Actually develop players.
For the record 2025 2026 2027 is already decided. They have a great rotation. Cherington is more than capable of filling holes with veteran free agents and trading good and great pitching prospects for bats. New gm is just to improve player development so the 500 and above possibility continues in 2028 29 30 31 32.
TheMan 3
while Cherington is more than capable of making trades and signing free agents, if his record of this season in terms of trades and free agents is any indication, he won’t improve the team next year
DLC is batting below .200 since being traded for and now has struck out 170 times
Taylor and Rowdy needs no introduction
IKF came over from Toronto with a batting average of . 293 and it’s dropped 25 points since
Nick Yorke doesn’t have enough plate appearances to make a judgment on but Cook seems to be the real deal
Chapman was a good signing but that amount of money should have been used for a power hitter instead
RevitalizedOldDude
The Reds, Mariners and Marlins have all fired their managers. Each of these guys were arguably better leaders than Shelton and two had better records.
But let’s be serious. Unless Nutting goes or has some epiphany, nothing here is gonna change, regardless of who they bring in
YourDreamGM
DLC IKF are what they are. Plenty of track record there. It’s just small sample size, poor management or they didn’t take well to the mid season trade.
Taylor was best cf available. Rowdy 2nd best 1b. Should have got Santana but if a hitting coach would have got Rowdy fixed sooner and his spring was like his summer he would have been close or even better than. Yeah Grandpal Chapman were good. Olivares was a miss but look at his KC numbers. Not crazy to think he could have been better than what he was.
Only thing wrong with his free agents was the city of Pittsburgh doesn’t allow enough $ to really get the better tier players.
YourDreamGM
Gms win with a low payroll often. Want a name Neil Huntington.
It’s a cheap shot to go after Sheltons record. His first 3 years his gm gave him a team designed to lose 100 games. 2023 he lost cruz and half his rotation for the season. He was 2 and half games out of the playoffs when his bullpen turned into a pumpkin and his gm didn’t give him any help there.
He should have fired Haines (maybe Cherington wouldn’t let him) and he’s a bad tactical manager but still just a manager. Cherington is responsible for Sheltons win loss record give or take a dozen games at most.
RevitalizedOldDude
I tend to think De la Cruz will be better than what he’s shown. Maybe it’s not saying much but he is better than what they’ve thrown out there
I dunno. IKF is a super utility guy in my mind. Nothing wrong with that. Kind of reminds me of Adam Frazier in that regard
Disagree completely about Tellez, Taylor and Grandal and you can spin it any way you like. Waste of money. Everyone is using hindsight now where Chapman is concerned but the $10M cost was ridiculous
Lastly, no idea what the City of Pittsburgh has to do with free agent salaries. Let’s say it again: Nutting has the money. He just refuses to spend it. And this is yet another item you can spin any way you like, whether it’s the tired, old small market spiel or where he sits in terms of richest owners
It’s complete propaganda
TheMan 3
stop making excuses for the failures of Cherington’s acquisitions
Yeah IKF and DLC are who they are but if they were the best he could acquire in a trade maybe he shouldn’t have made them
Both were traded when the Bucs were still in contention for a playoff position and instead they both sucked and contributed to the downfall including a 10 game losing streak
RevitalizedOldDude
You can’t get blood from a stone. This describes the rosters Shelton has had to compete with
If you’re looking fire the guy solely on won-lost records, yeah, cheap shot
But his inability to inspire young players, to instill professionalism, to teach the fundamentals, to hold players accountable, to employ winning strategies, to put pressure on defenses …sorry, he should go
New New Buccoprojectory
Yes I’m puzzled too about the city of Pittsburgh comment.
YourDreamGM
“I tend to think De la Cruz will be better than what he’s shown.”
Did bright eyes hack your account? Nowhere to go but up!
All you need is some his wjejhs suggest he is hitting the ball well when it’s in the zone. He just needs better discipline at the plate. His uendbheje shows he is actually hitting fastballs quite well. But his jsjjdjejjge is well below average vs breaking pitches.
RevitalizedOldDude
Gonzales fielding a ground ball and attempting to make a little league shuttle to 2nd when Stanton is running to 1st—he’d have been out by 10 steps-is another example
Does anyone here know how to play shortstop? Seriously
RevitalizedOldDude
I don’t need bright eyes’s inane analytics
In fact, I tend to ignore his posts as being fan boy blather, at best. A guy who played video games and got into numbers read outs but never actually played the game
But thanks
YourDreamGM
Don’t just simply disagree. Name the better options Cherington missed out on? Wasn’t the awful names like Hoskins Bellinger fans named. Couldn’t afford them anyways and good because they where negative value contracts by a lot.
TheMan 3
22nd best first baseman? Out of how many?
23?
RevitalizedOldDude
Again, you play the corporate apologist
Nutting certainly *can* afford these types of players but won’t pay the fee
I mean, get off of it already.
YourDreamGM
“if they were the best he could acquire in a trade maybe he shouldn’t have made them”
So he should have done nothing? Just give up? I would say the bullpen failure hurt the team the most. Bright eyes can probably tell you the offense was better 2nd half vs 1 half of season.
He had 3 options. 1 do nothing. 2 outbid other teams in a insanely expensive trade market and sell the farm system. 3. Do what you can do. 3 sounds best to me and that’s what he did. If you prefer the other 2 options that’s fine.
YourDreamGM
Cherington especially but Shelton for sure has to go. Unless it comes to be that Cherington was micro managing him or something. I won’t miss Shelton at all. Cherington is the problem. Unless he isn’t fired then Nutting is the problem. If Cherington is gm in 2025 I won’t critique him at all. All my blame will be 100 percent on Nutting. Another reason and the number 1 reason to fire him if you are Nutting. If you want to survive you put the blame on those beneath you.
TheMan 3
how many games did Bednar blow and eventually lose in a save situation?
When it was obvious that he didn’t have the stuff anymore to be the closer, why did Shelton continue to use him in those situations?
The fundamentals suck, no trying to advance runners with a bunt, because no one knows how to bunt, base running blunders ( can anyone say Cruz?), not hustling to first base out of the box, admiring what you think is a homer and end up on second in a close throw
Setting a franchise record in strikeouts
The hitting sucks, no discipline, no basic fundamentals and this falls on the manager and his staff not the GM
TheMan 3
IKF might be a good utility player but he has no business batting first.
He draws too few walks then swings at everything no matter where the pitch is thrown
YourDreamGM
He can afford to pay someone 20 30 some million and have them produce drastically less than what they should for that amount and then exercise their player option and do it again? Not if you want to actually win games. Milwaukee can. They have about a million more fans show up and own all the parking around the stadium. They aren’t happy about Hoskins but can afford it. Cubs can easily afford it. Pittsburgh not so much.
New New Buccoprojectory
2 innings and they yank Skenes??? I don’t want to hear they are watching his innings. Last game of the year. Unless he got hurt today.
TheMan 3
imagine being a Pirate fan who travels to NY to watch Skenes pitch against the Yankees and he only goes 2 innings
No forewarning by the team or worst manager in baseball and these people wonder why they can’t draw fans to their games
Badfinger
The Yankees broadcast knew Skenes was only pitching two innings before the game started.
TheMan 3
I’m talking about the fans that traveled from Pittsburgh to NY, which was explained thoroughly in my previous comment
And nowhere did I mention the Yankees broadcasters
reading is fundamental
New New Buccoprojectory
Man 3. People don’t have fundamentals anymore. Especially when it comes to the MORON managing.
New New Buccoprojectory
Because Moron,if it was only his decision to yank Skenes, or Cherry Picker Cherrington, it’s total BS. Let him go 5 and Burrows follows. He has 5 months to rest. Hope the MORON has a lifetime of rest. I hate this guy so much.
TheMan 3
you’re not alone, Bucco, I am not fond of Shelton either
TheMan 3
I vividly remember Shelton saying last month that he wanted to win as many games the rest of the year
I think he either lied or is just too stupid to believe what he says
Joe says...
“It was the right call to sit him after two innings.” – Yankees fans
Slider_withcheese
….Now if only they could get some offense to help that staff out, they may be a .500 team next year.
mlb1225
Great to see Burrows up (even if it is a month and a half too late). He could be an important cog in their pitching staff next year.
New New Buccoprojectory
1225. Burrows has been struggling and limited after Tommy john. So there was no sense in calling him up earlier
mlb1225
He was still shaking off some rust, but his stuff looked fine at Triple-A. His last three outings before getting promoted weren’t good, but had a 3.12 ERA, 25% strikeout rate, and 7.8% walk rate for Indy throughout his first 7 games.
RevitalizedOldDude
-I’m thinking that the idea here was to send Jones, Skenes and Burrows to the off season with a great deal of optimism. As much as I think Shelton needs to go, I can’t fault that sentiment at this point These games mean nothing and where Skenes is concerned, why would you risk injury in the drizzle?
-Nice to see Cruz do his customary jog on a ground ball here in the 6th.
-4 homers in 6 innings for the Pirates. I can hear Cherington now, saying they don’t need an Alonso or Walker
-I like Burrows. It’s just a small sample size but it’s hard to see him supplanting Ortiz as a starter here or even Falter, Bubba or a healthy Oviedo, for that matter
YourDreamGM
Burrows is up for a reward. Nothing more. He got injured, had a tuff road back. We appreciate the hard work. Keep working hard this off-season. Unless injury or he is Jared Jones so impressive we have to give him a spot he is just depth. What are the odds the rotation is as healthy next year? I imagine Burrows gets his shot or goes to the pen. He isn’t a slam dunk starter. Maybe gets traded since Cherington can’t develop position players.
RevitalizedOldDude
They could just send him a box of cookies and a gift certificate to Starbucks in it was just appreciation
It was in line with why they dropped Taylor and Tellez. Give the kid a shot. Why not?
YourDreamGM
Teams do this all time. It’s a reward. 1 game isn’t a shot or to evaluate him. His pitches are his pitches. They know what he has and can do. He’s a top 30 prospect, he was going to get a shot. Just a reward and making mlb debut can be uncomfortable. Let him get that nervousness out now when games don’t matter.
YourDreamGM
Hey Mike, you want some cookies or a mlb paycheck and benefits?
letitbelowenstein
Burrows got in 3-1/3 innings today. Worst-case, it gives him something to tell his grandchildren.
YourDreamGM
Unless his arm falls off he will be back but yeah any MLB time is better than none.