Righty reliever Cam Sanders gets call of lifetime, provides Pirates with bullpen depth

Cam Sanders was watching the Pittsburgh Pirates play the San Francisco Giants on Monday night and saw that their bullpen was taxed after using four relievers to cover the final eight innings.

Sanders got a phone call from Triple-A Indianapolis manager Shawn Bowman, who asked if he was sitting down. When Sanders said he wasn’t, Bowman suggested he find a seat.

“I’m like, I was either going back to (Double-A) Altoona or getting called up. I was really hoping this was the call, and he broke the news,” Sanders said Tuesday. “I don’t know, I couldn’t do anything but just smile. Just thanked him for everything he’s helped me with along the way. I just took time to reflect and it was awesome.”

That’s how Sanders learned the Pirates had selected his contract, giving the 28-year-old right-hander a chance to make his major-league debut after seven years of toiling in the minors.

To make room for Sanders on the active roster, the Pirates optioned right-hander Johan Oviedo to Indianapolis following his start in Monday’s 5-4 win over the Giants. In his first major-league game since Sept. 27, 2023, Oviedo allowed two runs on two hits and three walks with three strikeouts on 43 pitches in one inning.

Pirates manager Don Kelly said the plan wasn’t to send Oviedo back to Indy, but the depleted bullpen gave the Pirates little choice.

“It was 100% a roster move to get Cam up here to provide some length for the bullpen,” Kelly said, “and give Ovi a chance to reset and have a couple starts there to build back up.”

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Sanders spent seven years in the minors since being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 12th round of LSU in 2018. After playing three seasons at Triple-A Iowa, he signed a minor-league free agent contract with the Pirates and started the season at Altoona.

He has gone a combined 4-1 with 11 saves, a 1.91 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 51 strikeouts against 20 walks with a .150 batting average against in 42 1/3 innings over 33 appearances with Altoona and Indianapolis this season.

“He’s been throwing the ball really well down in Indy,” Kelly said. “It’s really cool. It’s a long road, a lot of ups and downs, speaking from personal experience. Assuming the same with him because baseball is tough. When you’re going through that grind of traveling through the minors and trying to continue to get better, continue to work on things. The reports that we’ve gotten on him and his ability to adjust and adapt, the slider is something that sticks in my mind that the team has raved about it.”

For Sanders, being inside a major-league clubhouse is a familiar feeling. His father, Scott Sanders, pitched for four teams in seven seasons in the majors, so he grew up going to the ballpark every day. To do so as a major-leaguer himself was a different experience, one Sanders enjoys.

“It feels great. It’s just something I’ve been dreaming about my entire life,” Sanders said. “My dad was a big-leaguer, so I grew up around the clubhouse. Ever since I was born this was just my biggest dream. I feel like just showing up to the park and walking through the halls and seeing everything, it’s just great that I’m in my own shoes and I built this journey myself. I just want to thank everybody who helped me along the way that played a huge role.”