Pirates Send Exciting Young Pitcher to Minors for Hunter Barco
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates pitching staff has worked hard the past few days and they are making changes to address a tired bullpen.
The Pirates announced that they recalled left-handed pitcher Hunter Barco from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned right-handed pitcher Wilber Dotel to Indianapolis as a result.
It is an interesting move, as Dotel has pitched well for the Pirates over the past week and did what the team needed to and more.
The Pirates now have a young southpaw on their pitching staff in Barco, who they hope will provide innings when they call upon him.
Why the Pirates Made This Move
The Pirates need ready and available pitchers, as they are in the midst of 13 straight games played, which included a six-game road trip and is now in a seven-game homestand, with this move made ahead of the second game vs. the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park on April 28.
Dotel threw four innings for the Pirates in the series opener on April 27, which saw him allow no base runners and post four strikeouts, keeping a perfect game going thoruhg six innings.
The Pirates have heavily used their bullpen the past two games, as right-handed starting pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski threw just 3.2 innings before giving up five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning in the eventual 5-0 loss.
Pittsburgh used three pitchers the rest of the way, including left-hander Evan Sisk for 1.2 innings and right-handers in Cam Sanders for two innings and Justin Lawrence for one innings afterwards.
The Pirates then had a bullpen game vs. the Cardinals, with left-hander Mason Montgomery making a spot start in the first inning and then Lawrence threw the second inning.
Sisk got two outs in the seventh inning and right-hander Isaac Mattson made sure to get the last out. Left-hander Gregory Soto threw the eighth inning, right-hander Dennis Santana struggled in his blown save in the ninth inning and then Sanders got the last out.
This left only right-handed pitcher Yohan Ramírez as the sole arm that didn't throw out of the bullpen the past two games.
Pittsburgh needs a starter option if there is an injury and with Dotel already throwing four innings, they'll let him go back down to Triple-A and stretch out as a starter and continue building up this season.
Barco went down for the same reason on April 13 and made two appearances for Indianapolis, which included a start vs. St. Paul on April 22, where he threw five scoreless innings and posted five strikeouts.
It's a good chance for Barco to show he belongs at the major league level again and also for the Pirates to have a southpaw that can take on some innings.
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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.