Weekly Report: Another 50/50 Week; Password, the Magician & Dotel Called Up, Jared Almost Ready, Notes & Moves
Homeward bound for Memorial Day…
Pirates Stuff
- The Password, OF Jhostynxon Garcia, was called up by the Bucs to fill recently optioned Nick Yorke’s spot. He joins Jake Mangum & Billy Cook looking for some PT with Ryan O’Hearn out. Password has some pop and is strong against lefties, suggesting a platoon, but hasn’t made much of a mark at the MLB level in a small sample size, so this is an opp for him to buff up his big league resume.
- A couple of days later, they called up 1B/OF Esmerlyn “The Magician” Valdez, hitting .253 w/10 HR, and optioned Billy Cook to Indy. Valdez was mostly used as an OF’er in AAA, but with the Password preceding him, the speculation is that he will primarily platoon with Spencer Horwitz at first base. And with two young guns on the roster now who can swing it, Marcell Ozuna should be on notice now…
- The Pirates had to address their pitching; they made a start on Wednesday when they recalled RHP Wilber Dotel and optioned RHP Isaac Mattson. We don’t suppose it’ll be the only move, just the first…
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| Wilber Dotel gets the call – April 27, 2026 Pirates/Los Piratas |
- Speaking of…Jared Jones will be in Pittsburgh Tuesday (he can come off of the IL then); he’ll work a bullpen and the brass will then decide if he’s ready to return or if they want him to rehab a bit longer.
- OF Bryan Reynolds played in his 1,000th MLB game on Saturday, all as a Pirate; B-Rey has been here since 2019.
- When Konnor Griffin took the field at Busch Stadium, he became the first player to appear there who was younger than the park itself. The new Busch Stadium opened on April 4, 2006. Griffin was born a few weeks later on April 24, 2006, as noted by St. Louis sideline reporter Tamar Sher.
- The Pirates promoted Bradenton’s 22-year-old 3B Murf Gray to Hi-A Greenboro. Last year’s second rounder out of Fresno State was tearing up the Florida State League, posting a line of .359/8/34 in 38 games.
- OF Lonnie White, a second-round pick in the 2021 draft who hit a speed bump in Hi A Greensboro the past couple of seasons, has honed his stroke this year (.298/7/19 in 23 games) and was bumped up to AA Altoona.
- The Pirates fell behind 3-0 to the Cards Tuesday, but after 22 scoreless innings, they put up a four-spot in the fifth. Yeah, but the Buc bullpen & the lead…Pittsburgh was down a pair by the ninth, but Spencer Horwitz kept the game alive with a two-out knock to tie it 6-6. It only prolonged the agony an inning; Mason Montgomery was tagged for a three-run shot in the 10th as the Redbirds took the opener, 9-6.
- Carmen Mlodzinski didn’t go deep, but went well, tossing five scoreless frames and leaving up 2-0. For a welcome change, the Bucs added on and the bullpen held as the Bucs got a much needed dub, enjoying a 7-0 breather at Busch. Konnor Griffin had four hits and scored three times to lead the batsmen.
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| Braxton Ashcraft – May 21, 2026 Sportsnet Pgh. |
- Braxton Ashcraft gave the Bucs seven innings of one-run ball and Brandon Lowe & Henry Davis homered while the bats kept grinding away to earn the Bucs a series win against the St. Louis Cards by a 6-2 count.
- Bubba Chandler was brilliant at Rogers Center Friday night, fanning a career-high 11 Jays in five frames. But the D was not on top of its game, and he left down to Toronto 3-1 with two scores unearned. The Bucs made it 3-2 in the eighth, but Dennis Santana was whacked to make the final count 6-2.
- Again no O v LHP and Paul Skenes had another bumpy outing as the Jays took the middle game by a 5-2 tally.
- Mitch Keller gave the Bucs six strong innings backed by HRs by Spencer Horwitz (on the first pitch of the game), Oneil Cruz and Esmerlyn Valdez (his first MLB hit & first traditional MLB dugout silent treatment) as the Pirates salvaged the third game of the Blue Jay set by a 4-1 score.
- The Pirates entertain the Cubs for a four-game set and Twins for three matches at PNC this week.
- Gerrit Cole, who missed all of the 2025 campaign due to elbow surgery, is back for the NYY and started Friday. Guess he’s feelin’ better – he tossed six scoreless frames for the Bronx Bombers
- The Reds placed 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes on the 10-day IL with a bulging lumbar disc; he’s suffered from back issues for most of his career. The move was triggered by the return of DH/3B Eugenio Suárez from an oblique injury.
- The White Sox have released RHP Osvaldo Bido so that he can pursue an opportunity to pitch in Japan for Yokohama.
- RHP Cody Bolton, who began his MLB days with the Bucs in 2023, was outrighted to AAA by the Houston Astros.
Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2026/05/weekly-report-another-5050-week.html
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