Pirates Place Lefty Relief Pitcher on Waivers
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have made changes to their bullpen ahead of their upcoming series vs. the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, including placing one of their veteran relief pitchers on waivers.
Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reported that the Pirates are designating left-handed pitcher Ryan Borucki for assignment, as they recalled both relief pitchers, right-hander Colin Holderman and left-hander Evan Sisk from Triple-A Indianapolis. The Pirates also optioned right-handed relief pitcher Cam Sanders to Indianapolis as well.
Pirates bullpen moves:
— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) August 15, 2025
Colin Holderman and Evan Sisk recalled
Cam Sanders optioned to Indianapolis
Ryan Borucki designated for assignment
The Pirates placing Borucki on waivers means that any other MLB team can claim him and put him on their roster. If no other team does, Borucki will clear waivers and the Pirates will outright him to Triple-A.
Borucki rejoined the Pirates on Aug. 1, after they activated him from the 15-day injured list, which kept him from the team for almost a month and a half.
He made six appearances in his recent stint with the Pirates, finishing with a 5.40 ERA over 5.0 innings pitched and five strikeouts to one walk.
Borucki's first five appearances were scoreless, but he gave up three earned runs in his last outing vs. the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on Aug. 12 in the 14-0 loss.
The Pirates placed Borucki on the 15-day injured list on June 21 with lower back inflammation and he did rehab assignments with Single-A Bradenton and Indianapolis before coming back to the MLB.
Borucki made 35 appearances for the Pirates out of the bullpen in 2025, with a 1-3 record, a 5.28 ERA over 30.2 innings pitches, 27 strikeouts to 12 walks, a .236 opposing batting average and a 1.24 WHIP.
He had a good start to this season, with a 2.55 ERA over 18 appearances and 17.2 innings pitched through May 13, with 15 strikeouts to five walks, a .167 opposing batting average and a 0.85 WHP.
Borucki pitched poorly with the Pirates after that, with an 9.00 ERA over his last 17 appearances, with 13 earned runs over 13 innings of work.
The Pirates now have seven right-handed pitchers in their bullpen, in Braxton Ashcraft, Holderman, Isaac Mattson, Carmen Mlodzinski, Dennis Santana and Chase Shugart, plus the sole left-handed relief pitcher in Sisk.
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.