The Pittsburgh Pirates enter play today with a 43-47 record good enough for third in the National League Central. They are nine and a half games back from the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers. This afternoon they are four games back from a wild card spot. They start a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers tonight in Milwaukee and will then head to play the White Sox in Chicago to wrap up the first half of the year, before the All-Star break. Before the game today, the team announced several roster moves.
RHP – Quinn Priester
The Pirates have activated Priester from the 15-day injured list. He is returning from a right lat muscle injury on June 3rd. He has started six games this year losing five of those six games. He has pitched in 31.2 innings this year with 17 earned runs allowed, 10 walks, and 20 strikeouts. He has a 4.83 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP on the year for the Pirates.
LHP – Ryan Borucki
The Pirates have sent Borucki on a rehab assignment to the Altoona Curve. Borucki has pitched in four games throwing 3.1 innings without factoring in a decision. He has allowed two earned runs and struck out six. He has a 5.40 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP while pitching for the Pirates.
RHP – David Bednar
Bednar has been sent on a rehab assignment to the Altoona Curve. Bednar comes off the injured list appearing to be recovered from his left oblique strain suffered back on June 20th. So far this year he has appeared in 34 games for the Pirates, he has won three games, lost three games, and converted 16 of 19 on save opportunities. He has a 5.17 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP on the year.
LHP – Justin Bruihl
The Pirates have sent Bruihl outright to Triple-A to play for the Indianapolis Indians. Bruihl has pitched in seven games this year for the Pirates with a 9.53 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. He did not factor in a decision while pitching in 5.2 innings of work recording five strikeouts along the way.
OF – Edward Olivares
The Pirates have optioned Olivares to Triple-A to play for the Indianapolis Indians. He has played in 55 games this year for the Pirates with 22 runs scored, four doubles, five home runs, 23 RBIs, and one stolen base in those games. He was slashing .224/.291/.333 with a .624 OPS on the year.
Overview
The Pirates Bullpen appear to be on the verge of getting back some reinforcements in Bednar their closer and Borucki who was effective out of the bullpen before his injury. The Pirates just placed Jared Jones on the injured list and have been rumored to be thinking of limiting All-Star and rookie phenom Paul Skenes while they still are in the playoff picture. I will be interested to see how things take shape by the end of the week. A series victory over the Brewers and White Sox would put them at 47-49 and if they could manage a sweep of the White Sox they could be at .500 before the all-star break. Could that change management’s position at the trade deadline? Could keep rolling with Skenes until they are further back in the wild card? Time will only tell, but either way these moves today are a good sign for the bullpen for sure!
