Pirates Relief Pitcher Missing Start of Season With Injury
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have only just begun Spring Training, but won't have one of their relief pitchers for the foreseeable future.
Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said that right-handed reliever Ryan Harbin suffered an arm injury to his teres major and lat musculature, according to Kevin Gorman of the Tribune-Review.
This is a similar injury that former Pirates pitchers Johan Oviedo and Tim Mayza dealt with last season. It makes it painful to throw pitches, especially when the arm is extended above the head, as both muscles deal with upwards extension in the arm.
Tomczyk said that Harbin won't throw for six weeks and then they will do repeat imaging to see where his status is at that point.
This would keep Harbin out until April 7, meaning he'd miss at least the first two series for Triple-A Indianapolis, where he's expected to start pitching in 2026.
What the Pirates Get in Harbin
The Pirates placed Harbin on their 40-man roster at the end of last season, as he was set to become a minor league free agent, as he has spent six seasons with the Pirates, which is the maximum amount of renewal years that a Uniform Player Contract has.
Pittsburgh also did this to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft and also that they likely see him as a potential option for their bullpen in 2026
Harbin mostly throws two pitches in the sinker and a slider. Some people confuse his sinker for a fastball, but there is too much movement for that to be the truth.
Both of his pitches have great movement, but his slider is what separates him from his peers, with a incredible break that baffles hitters.
Ryan Harbin Has Strong Season With Pirates in 2025
Harbin had issues at High-A but figured it out in 2025, dominating for Greensboro early on with a 2-2 record in 22 bullpen outings, a 2.37 ERA over 30.1 innings pitched, 46 strikeouts to 23 walks, a .173 batting average allowed (BAA) and a 1.35 WHIP.
His performances earned him promotion to Double-A Altoona on June 24, where he continued his solid pitching. He had a 3.66 ERA over 14 outings and 19.2 innings pitched, 31 strikeouts to seven walks, a .227 opposing batting average and a 1.22 WHIP.
He then earned his second promotion in 2025 to Triple-A Indianapolis on Aug. 12, where he finished off the campaign.
Harbin had two bad outings with Indianapolis, giving up six earned runs in back-to-back appearances on the road vs. the Columbus Clippers on Sept. 6 and at home vs. the Iowa Cubs on Sept. 9.
He finished with a 11.48 ERA over 14 outings and 13.1 innings pitched at Triple-A, 16 walks to 15 strikeouts, a .351 BAA and a 2.70 WHIP.
Harbin did pitch well outside of those two outings, with a 3.46 ERA over 13 innings pitched and will need to show more of that this season.
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.