Pirates May Have Solved Bullpen Woes With Young Star
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have had one major issue with bullpen, but one new pitcher could be the answer for that problem.
The Pirates called up right-handed pitching prospect Wilber Dotel on April 19 and he has already pitched in the last two games for the team, taking on innings when they've needed it most.
Dotel is still young and probably a bit early in making the major leagues, after less than 15 innings at Triple-A Indianapolis this season, but he does have the talent to eventually succeed at the highest level.
The Pirates also need a pitcher like him, with their bullpen strong in certain areas, but not all-around.
Why Wilber Dotel Could Help Pirates Bullpen Out Greatly
The Pirates need a middle reliever, bulk-inning type pitcher in their bullpen and Dotel is currently the only person who can take on that role.
Dotel served primarily as a starting pitcher in the minor leagues, with 84 starts in 98 appearances and last coming out of the bullpen in 2023, as he made 25 starts with High-A Greensboro in 2024 and 27 starts with Double-A Altoona in 2025.
He has also steadily increased his workload in his career, with 125.1 innings pitched at Altoona last season, an almost 100-inning increase from when he started out his professional career in 2021.
One crucial part of his game he improved in Double-A last season was reducing his BB/9 from 4.57 in 2024 to just 3.08 BB/9, while simultaneously increasing his K/9 from 8.97 to 9.38 as wel.
Dotel is also getting better with his pitch-mix, which relies on his four-seam fastball that can reach up to 100 mph and has averaged at 97.1 mph in his two first major league appearances.
He also throws a cutter, slider and changeup, which play well with his fastball and make for a solid pitch-mix to start out in MLB.
Dotel is still young, but he has the stuff to become a really strong pitcher at the major league level, but there will be some struggles along the way for sure.
Why Pirates Need Dotel to Fill Role
The Pirates have great backend of the bullpen options, with right-handed pitcher Dennis Santana as closer and left-handed pitcher Gregory Soto as the set-up man in the eighth inning
Both pitchers have posted a sub-1.00 ERA and are pitchers the Pirates rely on in tough situations.
The Pirates also have right-hander Isaac Mattson, who has thrown 12 straight scoreless outings and left-hander Mason Montgomery, who has thrown five consecutive scoreless outing himself, plus right-hander Yohan Ramírez, who has had to pitch in tough situations and holds a 2.30 ERA.
Pittsburgh lacks that true middle reliever and pitcher they can rely on to take on multiple innings, especially if a starter has a poor outing or suffers an injury.
They originally had rookie left-handed pitcher Hunter Barco and free agent signing in veteran right-handed pitcher José Urquidy in those roles, but neither performed very well.
Barco posted a 6.43 ERA over four appearances and seven innings pitched, while Urquidy posted an 8.53 ERA over five appearances and 6.1 innings pitched.
The Pirates sent both pitchers down and they are both stretching out as starters at Indianapolis, with hopes they could potentially return and produce in the major leagues.
Dotel pitched in the ninth inning of the 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at PNC Park on April 19 and then 1.2 innings in the fifth and sixth innings in the 5-1 loss to the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on April 21.
Both situaitons were relief ones, but Dotel did manage to limit both teams, aside from a solo home run to Rays All-Star Junior Caminero.
His three walks against the Rangers were a bit much, but he kept the Pirates from being completely out of it in a tough situation in relief of starter Carmen Mlodzinski.
Dotel doesn't have to pitch perfectly, but if he can get some outs and keep things from spiraling, he may just develop into that relief pitcher the Pirates desperately need.
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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.