The Pittsburgh Pirates added a 15th pitcher to their 28-man roster Sunday before their scheduled series finale against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The team selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Beau Sulser from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Sulser, who has no previous major-league experience, was 1-2 with a 2.13 ERA, 14 strikeouts and two walks in 12 2/3 innings (three starts).
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said the move was the result of two recent events. In the franchise-worst 21-0 loss to the Cubs on Saturday, relievers Miguel Yajure and Aaron Fletcher threw 48 and 37 pitches, respectively. Also, there is a wave of non-covid virus running through the Pirates’ clubhouse, Cherington said.
“We have a group that’s beat up a little bit inside that clubhouse and they’re grinding to help us win games,” Cherington said on 93.7 FM. “We felt like we needed to add another pitcher (Sunday) just to protect the staff, make sure we had some length (in terms of innings).”
Sulser, 27, was the Pirates’ 10th-round draft choice in 2017 from Dartmouth, where he was 13-6 with a 3.48 ERA in four seasons. He was the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year in ‘17, graduated and was drafted by the Pirates the next day. He’s been pitching in the minors since the latter part of the ‘17 season and made 24 starts for Indianapolis last year, compiling a 7-9 record, 5.65 ERA and 1.66 WHIP.
“This is a young man who has grinded in the minor leagues for a long time,” Cherington said. “Absolutely, loves, loves the game of baseball, loves pitching and competing.
“He has plenty of other things in his life he could be doing, probably. He’s a really smart young man. But he kept at it now because he wanted a chance to get to the big leagues and sure enough (Sunday) he will.”
Sulser’s older brother Cole, who also attended Dartmouth, pitches for the Miami Marlins.
To make room for Sulser (6-foot, 200 pounds) on the 28- and 40-man active rosters, outfielder Anthony Alford was designated for assignment. After opening the season on the injured list with a right wrist sprain, Alford appeared in only two games, with one hit and two strikeouts in four at-bats. In 49 games last season, he slashed .233/.311/.406, with five home runs, 11 RBIs and five stolen bases.
Cherington said the need to add a pitcher to the roster led to a difficult conversation with Alford. “He’s someone we respect so much as a person,” he said.
