Pirates Manager Explains Hunter Barco Decision
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates made their first change to their pitching staff since Opening Day, which changes the outlook of their bullpen.
The Pirates optioned left-handed pitcher Hunter Barco to Triple-A Indianapolis and recalled left-handed pitcher Evan Sisk in his place on April 13, sending the rookie southpaw to the minors.
Pirates manager Don Kelly said that moving Barco down gives him the opportunity to become the starting pitcher he wants to be going forward, but that the team needed another pitcher that was ready to go.
“We needed a fresh arm and we needed to lengthen Barco out," Kelly said. "He’s going to be a big part of what we are doing moving forward. We need to get him stretched back out. We believe he’s a starting pitcher long term.
"Does that mean that when he comes back up he will be in the rotation. Don’t know? He can still fill that bulk role. We just needed to get him some more touches on the mound and we needed a fresh arm for the series.”
How Barco Performed With Pirates in 2026
Barco made four appearances out of the bullpen for the Pirates this season and made the first Opening Day roster of his young career.
He came in with just two MLB appearances towards the end of 2025 and earned a bulk role in the bullpen for the Pirates, who needed a left-handed arm, alongside the high-leverage southpaw in Gregory Soto.
Barco posted a 6.43 ERA over 7.0 innings pitched, with five earned runs and three home runs allowed, walking seven batters to just five strikeouts, while posting a .276 batting average allowed and a 2.14 WHIP.
He came in for the Pirates in their first extra innings game vs. the New York Mets at Citi Field on March 28 and made a great play at the plate to keep the Pirates going, but also gave up a three-run walk-off home run to center fielder Luis Robert Jr. in the 4-2 loss
Barco gave up two solo home runs in relief vs. the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on March 31 in the 8-3 win and then he bounced back with 2.1 scoreless innings vs. the Baltimore Orioles on April 4 at PNC Park.
His last outing came on April 12 vs. the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, where he got two outs in the sixth inning, but then gave up two walks and a run in the seventh inning, which helped the home team in their eventual comeback win, 7-6.
It was more than a week between both of his appearances, something that Kelly noted as something that made a difference in him going down to Triple-A.
“That’s the plan right now and to get workload in and build up," Kelly said. "It was too long in-between outings. We went a week between this last one and for him and for us it’s too long.”
Barco, who has started 47 of his 54 games in the minor leagues, so a starter role makes much more sense for the young southpaw.
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.