Pirates/MLB category, Page 16
Bucs Beat Q&A: Scouting Pirates’ potential No. 1 pick with MLB Pipeline writer Jonathan Mayo
Pirates GM Ben Cherington said they plan to take the best player available, so why did you project them to pick Oregon State shortstop Aiva Arquette in the MLB.com mock draft? I do think that they tend to take who they think the best player is. It could very well...
The week ahead: Pirates host White Sox after All-Star break
Here’s a look at next week’s Pirates schedule: Home Run Derby, All-Star Game, All-Star Break 8 p.m. Monday: T-Mobile Home Run Derby (ESPN) 8 p.m. Tuesday: 95th All-Star Game (ESPN) Wednesday: All-Star break Thursday: All-Star break • Pittsburgh Pirates fans have a stake in the Home Run Derby, with Oneil...
Pirates prospect watch: LHP Anthony Solometo aims to get back on track with rehab assignment
Anthony Solometo Position: LHP Height: 6-foot-3 Weight: 205 pounds Level: Double-A Notable: Anthony Solometo once looked to be on a similar track as fellow prospects Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft and Thomas Harrington, all of whom became viewed as the next wave of Pirates pitchers who would bolster the big-league rotation...
Paul Skenes sharp in another short outing, but Pirates fall to Twins, dropping 7th straight
The past three starts by Paul Skenes have been five innings or fewer, with two of those three featuring only 78 pitches thrown. Skenes’ abbreviated starts of late largely have been because of publicly acknowledged workload management, with the Pirates and their sophomore pitching phenom on the same page. The...
Pirates farm report for July 11, 2025: Will Taylor, PJ Hilson belt 2 homers each for Greensboro
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 53-37) gave up a grand slam to Matthew Batten in the top of the 10th to lose 8-4 to Gwinnett (Braves). RF Ji Hwan Bae (.294) went 2 for 4 with two RBIs. CF Liover Peguero (.247) went 2 for 5 with an RBI. 2B Alika Williams (.258)...
Pirates call up reliever Yohan Ramirez, send Jared Triolo to Triple-A, DFA Matt Gorski
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected the contract of right-hander Yohan Ramirez from Triple-A Indianapolis ahead of Friday’s series opener in Minnesota against the Twins. To make room for Ramirez on the roster, utility man Jared Triolo was optioned to Triple-A, and first baseman/outfielder Matt Gorski was designated for assignment. Ramirez, 30,...
Pirates slugger Oneil Cruz opens as favorite to win Home Run Derby
Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz opened as favorite to win the All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday night in Atlanta. As of Friday afternoon, Cruz was the plus-330 first choice to win the annual contest at DraftKings Sportsbook. Seattle’s Cal Raleigh was second at plus-360, and hometown favorite Ronald Acuna...
Pirates’ Nick Gonzales answering questions with his bat since return from ankle injury
Nick Gonzales understands there’s a dichotomy in how he is perceived, so the Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman has learned to embrace his reputation as an undersized overachiever and a bonus baby who comes with the high expectations of a top-10 pick. Gonzales is defying the odds this season, returning from...
Former Pirates 1st-round pick says Oneil Cruz’s greatest strength may also be ‘his biggest detriment’
If there’s anyone who can empathize with struggling Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Oneil Cruz, it’s Cole Tucker. Like Cruz, the former Pirates shortstop was asked to make a move to the outfield early in his Major League career. Like Cruz, the former first-round pick knows the weight of expectation when you...
Pirates farm report for July 10, 2025: Bubba Chandler fans 7 in 6 scoreless innings
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 53-36) blanked Gwinnett (Braves), 3-0. RHP Bubba Chandler (4-2, 2.82) had his second straight scoreless outing, allowing five hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in six innings. RHP Eddy Yean (2.61) and RHP Cam Sanders (1.64) each threw a scoreless inning before RHP Kyle Nicholas (3.81) pitched...
Bucco Bricks remedy: Pirates to install bronze plaques that carry fans’ personalized messages
The Pittsburgh Pirates are planning to install bronze plaques on PNC Park’s facade to replace the personalized, fan-purchased bricks that were removed amid controversy. Sixty bronze plaques to be installed on the outside walls of the stadium along West General Robinson Street and Mazeroski Way will be “a deserving and...
Tim Benz: Pirates have no one to blame but themselves for newest chapter of ESPN Paul Skenes trade chatter
There were a couple of rounds of media-created Paul Skenes trade talks earlier this season. They were driven by a number of national outlets, baffled by how little the Pittsburgh Pirates had done to surround Skenes with any offensive talent to speak of. Thus, the presumption was that instead of...
U mad, bro?: Pirates fans fume over criticism of Paul Skenes’ pitch count, Steelers fans say, ‘Pay T.J. Watt!’
There are very few reasons to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates these days. One of them is Paul Skenes. So, when he is pitching great and gets pulled early, I get mad. As I wrote on Tuesday, in the wake of that occurrence happening in Seattle over the weekend, I was...
Isaac Mattson’s back-to-back tough outings belie a much stronger seasonVideo
Isaac Mattson was the man on the mound when Kansas City won in walk-off fashion Tuesday night, with Nick Loftin delivering the winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning. But it wasn’t all on Mattson, inserted into the game in a tough spot in relief of Dennis...
Salvador Perez’s 8th-inning homer lifts Royals to sweep over Pirates, who lose 6th straight
For all their ongoing struggles, the Pittsburgh Pirates deserved to take some pride in their recent six-game win streak, which saw the club put together a perfect homestand ahead of nine straight on the road. But whatever modicum of momentum that stretch crafted since has been spoiled by a frustrating...
Pirates farm report for July 9, 2025: Ronny Simon walks it off for Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 52-36) scored one in the eighth and two in the ninth to get past Gwinnett (Braves), 3-2. In the ninth, SS Tsung-Che Cheng (.222) hit a tying RBI single and DH Ronny Simon (.316) followed with a walk-off RBI double. CF Ji Hwan Bae (.281) hit an RBI...
Livvy Dunne, girlfriend of Pirates’ Paul Skenes, denied purchase of Babe Ruth’s apartmentVideo
Gymnast and social media influencer Livvy Dunne was all set to buy her first home. And it wasn’t just any home. Dunne, the girlfriend of Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes, had a contract in place to buy a $1.6-million apartment that was once owned by baseball great Babe Ruth on...
Tim Benz: Debate over Oneil Cruz’s Home Run Derby invitation is unnecessary
Oneil Cruz has been named to the roster for the Major League Baseball All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday night. That seems to have stirred a debate on sports talk radio and in social media circles as to whether Cruz “deserves” to be in the competition. Personally, I’m not sure...
Pair of seemingly sensible pitching decisions backfire for Pirates, Don Kelly in loss to RoyalsVideo
Sticking with Mitch Keller in a tie game after the Royals put a man on first base in the seventh inning Tuesday in Kansas City made enough sense, and it’s the decision that Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly made. At that point, when Salvador Perez got aboard due to catcher’s...
Royals walk it off in 9th vs. Pirates, who drop series, lose 5th straight
Mitch Keller took the mound in Kansas City on Tuesday having recently earned wins in two straight starts for the first time since back-to-back victories June 1 and June 7 of last season. The Pittsburgh Pirates failing to offer much support behind Keller has defined his season to date, as...
Pirates farm report for July 8, 2025: Thomas Harrington throws 6 strong innings for Indy
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 51-36) knocked around Gwinnett (Braves), 8-1. RHP Thomas Harrington started and went six innings, allowing one unearned run on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts. RHP Dauri Moreta (3.38), RHP Eddy Yean (2.68) and RHP Kyle Nicolas (3.95) each pitched a scoreless inning of relief. 3B...
Pirates place RHP Chase Shugart on IL, recall OF Jack Suwinski from Triple-A
The Pittsburgh Pirates placed right-handed reliever Chase Shugart on the 15-day injured list Tuesday because of left knee inflammation. In a corresponding transaction, outfielder Jack Suwinski was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. Shugart, 28, has enjoyed a solid first season with the Pirates. Over 32 games, he is 4-3 with a...
Pirates slugger Oneil Cruz to compete in MLB All-Star Home Run Derby
Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz has launched some of the hardest-hit balls since MLB started keeping track of exit velocity in 2015. He’ll get a chance to show that skill to a national audience when he participates in the Home Run Derby on Monday, the annual prelude to MLB’s...
Tim Benz: Load management for Paul Skenes heightens ‘whipped-puppy syndrome’ for some Pirates fans
The only thing worse than the Pittsburgh Pirates’ restriction on Paul Skenes’ innings Sunday was the support of that action from a (far too large) segment of the team’s remaining fanbase. A segment that is apparently even more brainwashed than I suspected. It’s certainly not all Pirates fans. In fact,...
First Call: Royals’ mound opponent for Mitch Keller under similar trade watch; 2 young Steelers getting national notice
A pair of young Pittsburgh Steelers are getting interesting recognition. Mitch Keller’s mound opponent in Kansas City has something in common with him. An ex-Duquesne Duke is receiving a look from an NBA club, and the Doak Walker Award odds feature some local running backs. All that in Tuesday’s “First...
