The Pittsburgh Pirates announced before Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers that right-handed pitcher Luis Ortiz has been optioned to Indianapolis. He is replaced on the roster by right-handed pitcher Yohan Ramirez.
Ortiz just started last night, allowing six runs in 3.1 innings. He’s been hit hard in three of his last five starts, while running up his pitch count early in another. He has a 4.86 ERA over 53.2 innings, with a 6.20 FIP and a 1.73 WHIP. His strikeout rate is also well off of his rate from last year’s stint with the Pirates, going from 9.6 per nine innings to 5.7 this year.
The All-Star break might be a good time to get him back on track in Indianapolis. It will be interesting to see who the Pirates choose to go to on Sunday before the break starts.
Ramirez has mostly been with the Pirates this year, posting a 3.00 ERA over 24 innings and 19 appearances. He allowed one earned run over 12 innings with Indianapolis.
Indianapolis Places Cal Mitchell on the Injured List
Slow day for transactions in the minors today, but if anything else comes up today, we will add it below. We have two moves for Indianapolis.
Indianapolis placed outfielder Cal Mitchell on the 7-day Injured List. He left yesterday’s game for a defensive replacement in the sixth inning.
He is hitting .272/.347/.440 in 72 games for Indianapolis this year, with 16 doubles and nine homers. He also went 0-for-4 with a walk in his two games with the Pirates last month.
Indianapolis activated catcher Luis Hernandez from the Development List to fill the spot of Mitchell.
Hernandez was a fill-in catcher for both Greensboro and Bradenton earlier this year, playing six games in each spot. He has been with Indianapolis for two weeks, but he’s been on the Development List the entire time.
The 23-year-old has been in the Pirates system since 2019. He has played a total of 90 games over four levels of the minor league system.
