Weekly Report: Brew Crew Broomed, Bucs Deal, Konnor & Endy Out, Brax All-Star...Not, Bullpen Blues, Draft - Curiel #1, Minor & MLB News

All-Star week just over the horizon w/no bullpen reinforcements…

Pirates Stuff:

• The first deal: the White Sox White Sox sent IF Jacob Gonzalez, 24, and middle-man reliever Brandon Eisert, 28, to the Pirates for LHP Jaden Woods, 24, and the #34 comp pick in the draft. Gonzalez is a lefty 1B, batting .244 w/two HR in 86 at bats in his rookie campaign and has seen some minor league time at SS, where the Pirates expect to try him. LHP Eisert’s line is 2-1/5.93 w/32 K in 27 IP; he had a 2024 cup of coffee with Toronto and has been with the Sox full-time since. Woods is a 24-year-old upper level lefty with big strikeout numbers and a 3-2-1/4.84 slash w/51 K in 35 IP. Spoiler alert: Gonzalez seems to be the bigger get in this deal, so the bullpen is the same ‘ol. To open 40-man space, Cam Sanders was DFA’ed and Konnor Griffin was transferred to the 60-day IL.
• Yah, when it rains…Konnor Griffin tore a tendon in his hand during Sunday’s game. Faced with the choice of playing through it & risking further damage or taking several weeks to rehab the injury non-surgically while on the IL, they opted for the IL, so he’ll be splinted for six weeks, with an expected return time of 8-10 weeks. See ya in September… IF Jack Brannigan was called up.

Konnor – ya see him , then ya don’t – he’s back on the IL image/Sportsnet.Pgh

• And Part 2 – C/1B Endy Rodríguez (left glute strain) was placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to July 6, and C/1B Rafael Flores Jr. was brought back. Endy tried to play through it, but the injury proved too stubborn.
• RHPs Thomas Harrington and Antwone Kelly were added to the active roster and Cam Sanders & Hunter Stratton were optioned to Indy. Neither callup has exactly set AAA on fire – Kelly’s line is 4-5/4.85 with seven K per game; Harrington’s is 1-5-1/6.52; he averages a fan per frame. Kelly came up, got in one game and was optioned back.
• OF Joshua Palacios has signed a minor league contract with the Pirates (he played here 2023-24 & hit .236) and was assigned to Indy. He was with the White Sox last year (.203) and was playing indie ball this year.
• It took a couple of days longer than it should have, but Braxton Ashcraft got the call to his first All-Star game on Tuesday. It didn’t up Pirates rep count, though – he replaced Paul Skenes, who started on Sunday and so is on ice for the Tuesday ASG. And when a rain delay pushed his start to Saturdya, he was ruled ineligible for the ASG and replaced. He and Skenes plan to attend the game even if they can’t pitch.
• Brandon Lowe (21 HRs/64 RBI) and Ryan O’Hearn (16 HRs/61 RBI) are the third pair of Pirates to have at least 15 homers and 60 RBI prior to the All-Star break (from 1933), joining Willie Stargell (30 HRs/75 RBI) & Al Oliver (15 HRs/61 RBI) in 1973 along with Bobby Bonilla (19 HRs/61 RBI) & Barry Bonds (15 HRs/62 RBI) in 1990.

Brandon Lowe – 2026 Topps 75th Anniversary

• The last time the Pirates had the first nine batters of an inning reach base, as they did Sunday, was in 1986 v the Expos.
• LHP Connor Wietgrefe (Eastern League/Altoona in June) was named the EL’s Pitcher of the Month. Wietgrefe went 3-0/0.39 in four appearances (three starts), giving up 10 hits, five walks and fanning 29 in 23 IP. He was, not too surprisingly, promoted to Indy at the end of June.
• 3B Murf Gray (Greensboro/South Atlantic League) took home the Sally League’s Player of the Month award, batting .333/7/15. He also entered MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 3B Prospects list.
• 3B Enmanuel Valdez (International League/Indy) and SS/2B Sammy Stafura (South Florida League/Greensboro) have been named their league’s Player of the Week. Valdez hit .400 with three HRs/11 RBI while Stafura posted a line of .542/4/11. Sammy also made MLB’s All-Prospect Team of the Week as the shortstop.
• In the Futures game, RHP Seth Hernandez tossed a 1-2-3 inning with two punchouts and OF Edward Florentino was HBP (in the butt, so he’ll be fine), stole second and scored.

Game Stuff:

• Paul Skenes had a rugged start and was down 1-0 in the first v Atlanta at PNC, but Ryan O’Hearn provided a pick-me-up with a grannie in the Bucco half, then added a pair of three-run bombs to plate a club single-game record of 10 RBIs as the Pirates romped 12-4.
• Jared Jones went six perfect innings with eight K; Donnie pulled him after 77 pitches with the score 0-0. Two innings later, recent Bucco Joey Bart sent a Dennis Santana serving over the fence to make it 2-0, with the final count 3-0 Atlanta; gotta score to win. Too bad we don’t get to face our own bullpen.
• If worryin’ about pitchers is your bag, Mitch Keller is your boy. He lasted three innings giving up three runs, and his relief, Cam Sanders, walked three guys in 2/3 of an inning & let in three more scores. But homers by Bryan Reynolds, Esmerlyn Valdez and Jake Mangum cut it to a 6-5 lead in the ninth. Then Kelly inexplicably brought in Dennis Santana, who was beat up yesterday, and he got beat up again today, giving up a grannie, as the Pirates dropped a 10-5 decision & the set to Atlanta.

Esmerlyn Valdez – 2026 HR trot photo/Pirates

• The first Brewer game was rained out and rescheduled as a split twin bill for Saturday. In the opener, Braxton Ashcraft was human, giving up five runs in five frames, but Esmerlyn Valdez refused to say die and homered twice with a slam (a seventh-inning game winner) and six RBI with Carmen Mlodzinski & Gregory Sota dodging stingers to take the day opener 7-6. Valdez put the Bucs up 2-0 in the nightcap with his third! homer of the day. Milwaukee tied it in the fifth while chasing Bubba Chandler, and the Pirates went back up 3-2 in the sixth when B-Rey chased Brandon Lowe home. And that’s how it ended; five guys came out of the pen and put it away. It was a good day for the cavalry.
• Paul Skenes didn’t face Jacob Misiorowski as originally booked; the Brewers held Miz back due to fatigue and Robert Gasser got the call. So much for the anticipated top gun duel – Paul went into the sixth (two runs, three hits, seven K) and left the game with a 14-2 lead. All nine starters had hits by the fourth inning when they erupted for 10 runs and the game went on cruise control after that, with the Bucs sweeping the set 14-5 after the twinbill brooming of the Brew Crew the day before. The bottom four in the order (Nick Gonzales, Marcell Ozuna, Jared Triolo & Hank Davis) went 9-for-19 with two homers (Davis & Ozuna), two doubles, seven runs scored and nine runs chased home.

MLB Stuff:

• Rowdy Tellez cleared waivers and re-signed a minor-league deal with Atlanta, where he’ll join Cutch in AAA Gwinnett.
• RHP Bryse Wilson, recently set free by the Cubs, returned to one of his past playgrounds by signing with the Milwaukee Brewers.
• IF Pablo Reyes, released by San Diego last week, signed a minor league deal with the LA Angels.
• RHP Vince Velasquez, who tossed here in 2023 before elbow surgery in ’24, signed a minor league deal with KC.
• RHP Mike Burrows (4-9/5.99) was optioned to AAA by the Astros; he was part of the multi-team deal that landed Brandon Lowe.