The Pittsburgh Pirates needed a fresh arm, and they turned back to Wilber Dotel before the series finale against the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park on Sept. 3.
Pittsburgh recalled the rookie right-hander from Triple-A Indianapolis after leaning hard on its bullpen in the first two games of the set. To make room on the 28-man roster, the Pirates optioned left-hander Evan Sisk to Indianapolis.
The timing makes sense. The Pirates and Giants split the first two games, and Pittsburgh has already burned through a lot of relief work just to get here.
In the opener on Sept. 1, a 13-12 Pirates win, Paul Skenes lasted only 4.2 innings, and the bullpen handled the rest of the 9.1 innings. Six relievers covered the final 4.1 innings, with right-handers Yohan Ramírez, Camilo Doval and Luke Weaver joining left-handers Sisk, Gregory Soto and Mason Montgomery.
The workload kept rolling in the second game on Sept. 2.
Bubba Chandler went five innings, then Brandon Eisert took the sixth, Carmen Mlodzinski covered three innings, and Doval handled the 10th in a 5-4 loss. That left the Pirates thin enough that only right-handers Lake Bachar and Kirby Yates had not pitched, with Bachar set to start the bullpen game.
Dotel should be in line for meaningful work. He last pitched one inning for Indianapolis on Sept. 1, so he’s available for the Giants game, and the Pirates are expected to use him in a bulk role after Bachar. Dotel has mostly been a starter in his career, but he has worked out of the bullpen for Pittsburgh and has already turned in several strong long-relief outings.
That list includes four perfect innings against the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park on April 27, plus three straight appearances of three scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs on May 25 and the Minnesota Twins on May 29 at PNC Park, the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on June 2 and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on July 20.
Pittsburgh will be looking for Dotel to keep attacking with his 98+ mph fastball and mix in his slider and cutter. If the plan holds, Bachar should cover two or even three innings, and Dotel could be asked for three to four himself, most likely the latter if everything goes smoothly.
The Pirates’ remaining bullpen options against the Giants include Ramírez and Weaver on the right side, along with Eisert, Soto and Montgomery from the left.
In Other News...
Pirates Catching Depth Move Could Hint At Something Bigger
The Pirates added another name to their catching mix this week, signing Jose Herrera to a minor league contract and sending him to Triple-A Indianapolis. Herrera had spent time in the Texas Rangers organization and also played in the Mexican League after his release, but his best-known work has come in the majors with the Arizona Diamondbacks. For Pittsburgh, it is the kind of depth move teams make when they want another experienced hand close to the big league picture.
Herrera is expected to help stabilize the catching inventory in the Pirates minor league system, giving the organization some insurance behind the plate. Moves like this do not usually draw much attention on their own, but they can say plenty about how a club wants to protect itself over a long season, especially at a position where bodies can disappear quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Suddenly Have A Tough Decision On A Forgotten Top Pick
Lonnie White Jr. has pushed his way back onto the Pirates radar in a real way this season, and its not just because he was once viewed as one of the organizations more notable young talents. After years of uneven development, the former top prospect has put together a strong 2025 across Hi-A and Double-A, showing the kind of production that can change how a club views a player in a hurry. His combination of power and speed has stood out, and the overall line has made it hard to keep treating him like a forgotten name in the system.
For Pittsburgh, the question now is less about whether White has re-entered the conversation and more about how to handle the next roster crunch. Adding him to the 40-man roster would be a way to keep him out of Rule 5 Draft risk, even if he is not yet ready for a big-league call-up. It is the sort of decision teams prefer to make before the deadline pressures pile up, and it gives the Pirates a small but meaningful test of how much they still believe in a player whose stock looked far more uncertain not long ago. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Suddenly Have A Bullpen Problem At The Worst Time
The Pirates added another layer of uncertainty to a bullpen that has already been asked to do a lot, placing right-handed reliever Kirby Yates on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Aug. 31 because of a right shoulder impingement. Pittsburgh moved quickly to cover the opening, recalling rookie right-hander Khristian Curtis from Triple-A Indianapolis before its series finale against the Giants, a sign the club needed fresh arms available right away.
Wilber Dotel also got the call back up as part of the same round of roster shuffling, while Evan Sisk was optioned to Indianapolis. The timing is less than ideal for a Pirates team trying to keep its late-game options intact, and Yates injury leaves the staff waiting to see how deep the bullpen hole becomes before the next stretch of games really settles in. [Read more 🡒]