On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates placed right-handed pitcher Kyle Nicolas on the 15-day injured list, retro September 17th, with a left oblique strain. The Pirates selected the contract of Jake Woodford, who pitched 4.2 innings in a start last night, allowing four runs on eight hits. They also moved Ben Heller to the 60-day IL from the 15-day IL.
–Down in the minors, the Altoona Curve season ended on Sunday, leaving only the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians left playing minor league ball. They finish their season this coming Sunday. The Pirates have called a few players up to the Triple-A level for the final week.
—Endy Rodriguez had his rehab assignment moved to the level, and has gone 4-for-9 while playing complete games at catcher and first base on back-to-back nights.
—Tsung-Che Cheng was assigned to Indianapolis from Altoona. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs in his first start, while also serving as a pinch runner in his debut.
—Eddy Yean was also promoted to Triple-A. He pitched a scoreless inning in his debut on Wednesday night, striking out two, while sitting 96 MPH with his sinker.
I think Rodriguez finishes the season in the majors, joining the Pirates for their final six games next week. Yean seems more like a promotion than Cheng. He had better numbers this season for Altoona, and clearly has advanced stuff. I could see Yean starting his 2025 season in Triple-A, with Cheng going back to Altoona to start his season.
–The Pirates transferred Bubba Chandler to the Development List. He started on Tuesday, and another start this year would mean he either finishes on a two-start week this week with a start on Sunday, or he gets called up to the majors to make his debut. Chandler isn’t Rule 5 eligible until next offseason, which means the Pirates would be adding him to the 40-man roster early, and using one of his options next season, if they called him up this year.
—Billy McKinney was transferred to the Development List.
—Isaac Mattson was activated from the temporary inactive list.
