The Pittsburgh Pirates have recalled outfielder Cal Mitchell from Indianapolis. To make room on the 26-man roster, relief pitcher Yohan Ramirez has been optioned to Indianapolis.
The Pirates will be without outfielder Bryan Reynolds for tonight, and possibly longer, as the team assesses an injury. For now though, Mitchell provides a short-term replacement, while they figure out what’s going on with Reynolds, and whether he will require a trip to the Injured List.
UPDATE: Derek Shelton told the local media that Reynolds has back tightness, but he won’t be going on the Injured List. No word on how long he will be out.
The 24-year-old Mitchell has spent the entire season with Triple-A Indianapolis, after seeing plenty of time with the Pirates last year. He hit .276/.353/.427 in 64 games for Indianapolis this year. He had a .226/.286/.349 slash line over 69 games for the 2022 Pirates.
Tim Williams took a look at Mitchell in today’s Prospect Watch.
In 19 appearances, Ramirez has a 3.00 ERA, 23 strikeouts and a 1.46 WHIP over 24 innings for the Pirates this year.
That ERA is strong, but he hasn’t been doing well recently, giving up eight runs (five earned) on ten hits and four walks in his last three innings.
Minor Moves by the Dozen
With full-season minor league teams starting their new week of games on Tuesday, it is usually a busy day for transactions. We have two early moves of note for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Check back throughout the day for any updates, which will be added below.
Outfielder Jack Herman has been sent back to the FCL Pirates on rehab. He began the year on the 60-day Injured List of the Indianapolis Indians. That was just a paper move while he rehabs, as he will likely end up on the Greensboro roster once he’s healthy.
The 23-year-old Herman was ready to play in the season opener for the FCL Pirates, but that ended up being a one-game return for him. He hasn’t played in the last two weeks. His rehab assignment with the FCL Pirates has resumed today. He played just 33 games last year, missing time due to injury.
Catcher Omar Alfonzo has been assigned to the Bradenton Marauders for the second time this year. He was there briefly not long ago, before returning to the FCL Pirates, where he has put up a .950 OPS in eight games. He had a .167/.269/.250 slash line over ten games during his first stint with Bradenton. While it feels like he’s been around the system for quite some time, Alfonzo is still just 19 years old.
We should expect to hear the Jared Jones promotion made official today, though he doesn’t need to be added until the day he’s pitching. That could be today, as his last start was six days ago.
Massey on the Move
The Pirates moved right-handed pitcher JP Massey from Bradenton to Greensboro on Tuesday. After a slow start to his season, he was named as the Florida State League Pitcher of the Month for May.
The 23-year-old Massey was a seventh round pick of the Pirates in 2022. He didn’t debut until this season. He posted a 3-3, 3.28 record in nine starts and two relief appearances for Bradenton, with 57 strikeouts, a 1.32 WHIP, a .230 BAA and a 2.60 GO/AO ratio over 49.1 innings.
Massey was a highly rated college draft prospect at one point, but he struggled during his time at Minnesota, despite showing the tools/pitches of a top pitcher.
More Moves Around the System
Bradenton activated pitcher Michael Fulgencio from the Injured List. He was a 13th round pick last year, who is already 24 years old. He made seven appearances for Bradenton, after not pitching last year. He gave up four runs and had a 2.00 WHIP in seven innings. He spent 17 days on the IL.
Catcher Luis Hernandez has been assigned from Bradenton to Indianapolis. This is likely a short-term move, as Hernandez was placed on the Development List for now. He’s likely serving as the third-string catcher, after Grant Koch was bumped up to the backup when Henry Davis was promoted. Last time Indianapolis had three catchers, they promoted Davis two days later…
Still More Moves
Right-handed pitcher Braxton Ashcraft has been promoted to Altoona. He missed all of the 2022 season and the end of 2021 due to Tommy John surgery. He has returned strong this year, posting a 3.03 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP and 40 strikeouts in 32.2 innings for Bradenton and Greensboro.
The 23-year-old Ashcraft was a second round pick in 2018, who signed a seven-figure deal to avoid going to college. He struggled in all of his stops through the minors before this year, though his 2021 stats are a bit skewed by him getting hit hard when he tried to pitch through his injury that eventually cost him over a full season of work.
The Jared Jones move was made official (see link above for details), but he wasn’t alone. Reliever Juan Minaya also moved up to Indianapolis. He’s a 32-year-old with plenty of big league experience, so he had no business being in Double-A anyway. As you would expect, he pitched great at the level.
Tahnaj Thomas rejoined Altoona to take his spot in the bullpen. Thomas had a 7.04 ERA over 15.1 innings before he landed on the Development List three weeks ago.
Jackson Glenn was activated off of the Injured List. Luke Brown, who just came off of the Development List late last week, has returned to the list. Glenn was hitting .343/.421/.571 through 29 games, before landing on the IL on May 25th
