The Pittsburgh Pirates placed right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester on the major-league taxi squad Thursday.
He is expected to be recalled to the 26-man active roster and start Friday’s series opener against the Boston Red Sox at PNC Park.
Priester is 1-1 with a 3.95 ERA this season for Triple-A Indianapolis. He has 20 strikeouts against five walks without allowing a home run in 13 2/3 innings.
He pitched in 10 games at the major-league level last season, going 3-3 with a 7.74 ERA in eight starts. He struck out 36 and had 27 walks and allowed 12 homers in 50 innings.
The Pirates optioned lefty Jose Hernandez to Indy after Wednesday’s loss to the New York Mets, leaving a spot open for Priester.
He will step into the rotation in place of Marco Gonzales, who is on the 15-day injured list with right forearm tightness.
The lefty had a 2.65 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and .234 batting average against in 17 innings over his first three starts.
