The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that they’ve activated relief pitchers Ryan Borucki and Colin Holderman ahead of Sunday’s game. Borucki was reinstated from the 60-day injured list, while Holderman was reinstated from the 15-day IL. No corresponding moves were needed, with MLB rosters expanding today from 26 to 28 players.
Borucki made five rehab appearances for Indianapolis during the month of August. He allowed one run on one hit, a solo homer, while walking two and striking out eight. He previously had a rehab assignment in June and July, but was shut down due to nerve-related complications.
Holderman made four rehab appearances for Indianapolis. He allowed runs in his first two inning appearances, before throwing two shutout innings in his final two appearances. The last one saw him strike out the side in a perfect inning.
The Pirates recently removed David Bednar from the closer role, going with a committee approach. The boost of extra arms to the bullpen will help to keep everyone fresh, with the hope that Borucki can return to the lights-out lefty he was prior to his injury. Holderman has struggled this year in late innings, and could benefit from lower pressure roles in an expanded relief group.
Braxton Ashcraft Returns to the IL
Alex Stumpf reported that Indianapolis placed Braxton Ashcraft on the 7-day injured list. The move came on Saturday, one day after Ashcraft returned from the injured list and pitched one inning.
Ashcraft was previously on the IL with forearm tightness. His current assignment is due to “a recurrent right forearm injury”, according to Stumpf. Ashcraft had Tommy John in 2022, and returned last season from the injury with better velocity and improved secondary stuff.
One thing that stood out to me was that Ashcraft was throwing a changeup this season. He scrapped the pitch in 2023, due to discomfort the pitch caused. He may have found a new changeup this year, and the pitch could be unrelated to his injuries this year. It was a surprise to see him go back to that pitch.
The series of injuries raises some concern that Ashcraft might not be a starter long-term. He’s got a fastball/slider/curveball trio that could play as a late inning reliever. The reduced role in the bullpen could better preserve his arm. The Pirates have so many starting options that they could move Ashcraft to the safer role without seeing a negative impact to their short-term or long-term rotation.
Minor Moves
Drake Fellows was transferred from Altoona to the Development List. Blake Townsend, who was recently signed to a minor league deal, was assigned to Altoona.
Townsend is in his age 23 season, and had a 2.45 ERA in 29.1 innings in High-A this year, with a 30:17 K/BB in the Seattle system.
Fellows is in his age 26 season, and was one of five players acquired in the 2021 Joe Musgrove trade. He dealt with a lot of injuries since then, being limited to 23.2 innings since the move, prior to this season. He had a 5.74 ERA in 53.1 innings in Double-A this year, with a 49:26 K/BB.
