Pirates Make Hunter Barco Decision Many Saw Coming
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The Pittsburgh Pirates made a pair of bullpen moves ahead of their series opener against the Washington Nationals at PNC Park.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Colin Beazley reported that the Pirates have optioned left-hander Hunter Barco to Triple-A Indianapolis.
As the corresponding move, the club has called up fellow southpaw Evan Sisk to take his place on the 26-man roster.
The Pirates have optioned LHP Hunter Barco to Triple-A Indianapolis. In his place, they’ve recalled LHP Evan Sisk.
— Colin Beazley (@colin_beazley) April 13, 2026
Barco's Struggles
Barco, a second-round pick out of the University of Florida who was ranked the No. 96 overall prospect in the sport by MLB Pipeline heading into the season, cracked the Opening Day roster after having made his big league debut in 2025.
His cup of coffee in the majors at the end of last season yielded strong results, as he didn't allow an earned run across two outings totaling three innings out of the bullpen.
Brought up through the minors as a starter, Barco was once again taking on reliever duties before being optioned to Triple-A this year.
He allowed two earned runs and took the loss in the Pirates' extra-inning loss to the New York Mets on March 28, marking his first appearance of the campaign.
Then, on March 31, he gave up two earned runs on two homers over two innings on the road against the Cincinnati Reds.
Barco bounced back with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless work vs. the Baltimore Orioles on April 4, but he allowed an earned run in 1 2/3 frames during Pittsburgh's loss to the Chicago Cubs in the series finale on April 12.
Now, he'll have the chance to go back down and hone his craft with Indianapolis before emerging as a call-up candidate down the road for the Pirates this season.
What Sisk Could Bring to the Pirates
Sisk, whose first major league appearance came last year for the Kansas City Royals, was later sent to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline for left-handeder Bailey Falter.
Over 14 appearances and 12 1/3 innings for the Pirates in 2025, Sisk pitched to a 4.38 ERA and 3.62 FIP with 14 strikeouts.
Sisk's advanced metrics were promising over a small sample size last year, limiting opposing batters to an expected batting average of .172, an average exit velocity of just 87.1 mph and a barrel rate of 4.7 percent, per Baseball Savant.
He doesn't throw hard, as he averaged 90.6 mph on his four-seam fastball and 90.0 mph on his sinker in the bigs, but he doesn't allow hard contact and typically generates a ton of ground balls.
Jack is a New Jersey native who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh as a Media & Professional Communications major in 2024 who is now covering the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Yankees for On SI.