Weekly Notes: Another Bad Week, Roster Rhumba & Injury Report, Minor POTWs, Ex-Bucs On the Move

From Motown Back Home v Texas…

Pirates Stuff:

• C Joey Bart came off the IL on Monday. C Brett Sullivan was DFA’ed, cleared waivers, declared for free agency and then re-signed. He was assigned to Indy.
• LHP Ryan Borucki was placed on the 15-day IL with low back inflammation and RHP Hunter Stratton was recalled from Indy.
• Bryan Reynolds joined the paternity list, leaving Tuesday’s game in the second inning, to be his wife, Blair, who went into labor with their third child. Billy Cook, who’s been sizzling at Indy, was brought up to replace B-Rey. After going 2-for-6, Cook returned to AAA when B-Rey returned on Saturday (it’s a boy!).

B-Rey’s a pappy again! – 2025 image/Pirates

• RHP Dauri Moreta (TJ surgery) has been activated after his rehab stint and was optioned to Indy to sharpen up while awaiting on opening in the MLB pen.
• Pirates IL, ay caramba! The Trib’s Kevin Gorman has the rundown.
• Back-ender Dennis Santana was suspended for four days for “aggressive behavior” towards a fan in Detroit who Santana claimed “crossed the line.” DS is appealing the time off.
• Cutch rapped out hit #2,215 on Saturday, bypassing some guy named Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio on the  MLB All-Time hit list.
• LHP Anthony Solometo has returned after having been shut down for three weeks with shoulder woes and made a Bradenton rehab start on Wednesday.
• SS/CF Konnor Griffin, 19, is the South Atlantic League Player of the Week. Konnor hit .407/.469/.778 in six games, with two homers and six steals. Oh, and it was his first week in the Sally League after his June 10th promotion to High A Greensboro.
• OF/1B Edward Florentino, 18, was named the Florida Complex League Player of the Week after hitting .471; he was a DSL All-Star last year.

Game Stuff: 

• Bad start to the week…after taking Monday off, Bailey Falter and Carmen Mlodzinski gave up four homers in a 7-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. The highlight was pre-game, when Detroit showed a scoreboard tribute to Don Kelly, a former Tiger.

The Renegade – 2024 Topps auto

• They were rained out Wednesday and played two on Thursday (also delayed by rain) with Andrew Heaney and Paul Skenes on the hill; Jack Suwinski was called up to be the 27th man. Heaney was wild, Tarik Skubal wasn’t, and Motown romped in the opener, 9-2. Skenes left the nightcap up 4-2 after six (Nicky G, Triolo and Cutch went long) after whiffing nine Tigers. Of course, they couldn’t hold the lead, and to add to the vibe, the game went into another rain delay in the bottom of the ninth, tied 4-4. But Dennis Santana and The Renegade took it home from there as the Buc bats erupted for four runs in the 10th and they salvaged the finale, 8-4, ending a dismal 2-5 Midwest swing.
• After facing Skubal the day before, the Pirates came home on Friday and met Jacob deGrom and the Texas Rangers. Mike Burrows opposed him. The night’s highlight came post-game after the Bucs were dropped, 6-2 – the fireworks were a great Friday night show.
• Pittsburgh dropped the second match, 3-2 as Mitch Keller’s voodoo doll had another pin stuck into it. The Bucs had five hits and were 0-for-8 w/RISP. They also misplayed an outfield ball to allow a run to score, and that tally proved fatal. 
• As against Motown, the Bucs saved face by taking the finale from Texas, 8-3, Guys with three hits: Bryan Reynolds, Spencer Horwitz (two RBI, three RS) and Tommy Pham (three RBI). Ke’Bryan Hayes had a nice game, saving a pair of runs with a great stop and posting a pair of hits, with two runs plated and a score. Nicky G also added a pair of raps/RBI, and Joey Bart scored twice with a hit and walk. Monday’s off, then it’s on to Milwaukee.

MLB Stuff:

• The Yankees activated RHP JT Brubaker, acquired from the Pirates in March, 2024. He had TJ surgery in 2023 and suffered cracked ribs in spring training.

JT’s back in the saddle – 2022 Topps Blue Star

• Former Plum HS pitcher Scott McGough signed a minor-league deal with the Athletics after being released by Arizona.
• 1B/DH Rowdy Tellez was DFA’ed by Seattle. Rowdy hit .243 with 13 homers for the Bucs in 2024 and was DFA’ed in late September.
• OF Calvin Mitchell was released by the Giants. Once highly touted, he made Pirates stops in 2022-23, was outrighted and has been with three other organizations since.