The Pittsburgh Pirates made a bullpen swap Friday afternoon ahead of their game in Cincinnati vs. the Reds, placing righty reliever Colin Holderman (right thumb sprain) on the 15-day injured list while recalling fellow right-hander Dauri Moreta from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Holderman (0-3, 3.86 ERA) had previously spent time on the injured list beginning in late August as a result of shoulder soreness.
The 27-year-old has appeared in 58 games for the Pirates this season, often serving as setup man to closer David Bednar.
Throughout the course of the season, Holderman has experienced stretches of dominance as well as periods of frustration.
He posted an ERA of 0.00 for the month of May, while in July, over 11 appearances, his ERA was 2.53.
Similarly, Holderman allowed two earned runs in 11 2/3 innings of work in August, finishing the month with a 1.54 ERA.
However, he was ineffective over his five June outings, as evidenced by an ERA of 13.50.
Recently, Holderman has struggled.
He last pitched Thursday evening, allowing three earned runs in the Pirates’ series finale vs. Chicago, nearly blowing his club’s lead.
That rough performance was only six nights removed from giving up four late-game runs at home against the Yankees in an eventual 7-5 New York victory.
Moreta (4-2, 4.24 ERA), who also had a pair of stints on the injured list and has battled performance issues, rejoins the Pirates for the first time in about a month.
Moreta had been with Indianapolis since Aug. 23.
Appearing in five games with one start (Sept. 17), he posted an 0-1 record and 10.80 ERA over 6 2/3 innings, striking out 11 with nine walks.
