In an ongoing quest to bolster their bullpen, the Pittsburgh Pirates made a handful of transactions ahead of their three-game series in St. Louis, recalling righty Ryder Ryan from Triple-A Indianapolis, designating left-hander Jose Hernandez for assignment and scooping 28-year-old righty Dennis Santana off waivers from the New York Yankees.
Ryan’s shuffling between Triple-A and the Pirates continues, as he prepares to begin his fourth stint in Pittsburgh this year.
Ryan, 29, has gone 1-0 with a 3.46 ERA over 11 games and 13 innings at the major-league level.
In Triple-A, Ryan has posted a 3.77 ERA in 10 games, striking out 10 with five walks.
Hernandez allowed a run in his last appearance for the Pirates on May 23, but on the year, in seven games, was 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA.
As for Santana, he was designated for assignment Sunday by the Yankees, having gone 2-0 with a 6.26 ERA in 23 games with the club, striking out 19 with 10 walks over 27 1/3 innings.
In seven big-league seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2018-21), Texas Rangers (2021-22), New York Mets (2023) and Yankees (2024), he is 10-14 with a 5.34 ERA.
Santana primarily throws a slider, sinker and cutter, while mixing in a four-seam fastball and changeup.
Note: The Pirates also promoted their No. 7 overall prospect, 24-year-old righty Braxton Ashcraft, to Triple A.
Ashcraft was 2-2 with a 3.69 ERA in 11 starts at Double-A Altoona this season, with a 1.95 ERA over six starts.
In 53⅔ innings, he has showcased commendable command, striking out 63 compared to just eight walks.
Ashcraft has navigated through a multitude of injuries throughout his career, most notably Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in 2021, keeping him off the baseball diamond for all of 2022 and some of 2023.
Last offseason, the Pirates added him to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.
Now Ashcraft is the first of a group of promising pitching prospects in the Pirates’ top 10 organizationally — righties Bubba Chandler (No. 3) and Thomas Harrington (No. 5) plus lefty Anthony Solometo (No. 4) — to make the jump from Double-A to Triple-A.
