The Pittsburgh Pirates are already making moves for 2027, and one of them is a familiar face.
Right-hander José Urquidy is back in the organization after the Pirates signed him to a minor-league contract on Oct. 1 and assigned him to Triple-A Indianapolis on Oct. 2, according to the transactions log. It’s a reunion after a rocky 2026 stint that started with a one-year, $1.5 million deal, then moved quickly to a DFA and a trade to the Chicago White Sox.
Urquidy first arrived in Pittsburgh on Feb. 11 with a shot to win a job in the rotation while Jared Jones was still rehabbing from surgery. Spring training, though, did not go his way.
He put up a 9.28 ERA in three starts across four games and 10.2 innings, along with a .319 BAA and 1.69 WHIP. Carmen Mlodzinski beat him out for the final rotation spot, but Urquidy still broke camp on the Opening Day roster in the bullpen.
The results there were rough as well. In five games and 6.1 innings, he logged an 8.53 ERA with a .441 BAA and a 2.68 WHIP. Pittsburgh optioned him to Triple-A on April 17, and that’s where his season finally steadied.
At Indianapolis, Urquidy gave the Pirates something far more usable. He went 5-4 in 17 starts with a 3.44 ERA over 83.2 innings, striking out 73 and walking 18. He also held hitters to a .227 BAA and posted a 1.05 WHIP.
Even so, the Pirates eventually moved on. They DFA’d Urquidy because they needed a 40-man roster spot after selecting catcher Shawn Ross’s contract, and they didn’t have a chance to get him back on the mound. Not long after that, Mitch Keller landed on the 60-day injured list on Aug. 3 with a right arm teres major muscle injury, a reminder that Pittsburgh could have used more pitching depth.
That need hasn’t gone away. The Pirates are looking for veteran help on the mound, especially in the rotation, where much of the bulk work currently falls to rookies or pitchers still early in their careers.
Urquidy’s 2026 didn’t stop at Pittsburgh. He appeared in eight more MLB games, six with the White Sox and two with the Philadelphia Phillies. Across seven big-league seasons, he’s built a resume the Pirates clearly think still has something left in it, and he also has familiarity with pitching coach Bill Murphy from their time together with the Houston Astros.
For Pittsburgh, it’s a low-risk bet with a chance to add useful depth. For Urquidy, it’s another shot to turn a messy year into something better the next time around.
In Other News...
Pirates Fans Sent Ownership A Clear Warning This Offseason
The Pirates 2026 season ended with a message that went beyond the standings. Even after a sluggish start at the gate compared with 2024, Pittsburgh still drew 1,704,229 fans, its second-highest total since 2017, and the crowd grew as the club became more competitive and pushed to an 82-80 finish. A winning season for the first time since 2018 gave the fan base a reason to stay engaged, and the late-season turnout suggested plenty of interest remains when the product on the field gives people something to believe in.
Now the pressure shifts back to ownership, because the attendance bump only strengthens the argument that Pirates fans are willing to show up if the team keeps moving in the right direction. The challenge is making the kind of roster decisions this winter that justify that support and keep momentum from fading once the calendar flips again. The fan base has sent its warning clearly enough: the next step has to be more than incremental. [Read more 🡒]
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Among the names to watch are shortstop Wyatt Sanford, catcher Easton Carmichael and pitcher Zander Mueth, three players with different paths but the same basic goal: keep moving up the system. The Fall League will give Pittsburgh a clearer read on how they handle better competition, and for some of them, the month ahead could help determine whether the next step comes sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Collapse Reopens One Brutal Pirates Postseason Debate
The Red Sox going home after a second straight Wild Card Round loss to the Yankees brings back an old ache for Pirates fans who remember how quickly strong regular seasons can vanish in October. Pittsburgh lived through its own version of that frustration in 2014 and 2015, when back-to-back trips to the postseason ended the same way, with the club unable to push a run across in either game.
Those defeats are still remembered less for the Pirates than for the pitchers standing in the way, Madison Bumgarner one year and Jake Arrieta the next. For a team that had built momentum and earned its place in the bracket, the shutdowns left the same familiar question hanging in the air again, the one every October contender eventually has to answer for itself. [Read more 🡒]