Pirates Transactions
Pirates Roster Moves: Hunter Stratton Joins Bullpen in Place of Key Reliever
The Pittsburgh Pirates recalled right-handed pitcher Hunter Stratton from Triple-A Indianapolis prior to Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park. Fellow right-handed reliever Dennis Santana was placed on the Bereavement/Family Medical Emergency List.
Stratton made 10 appearances with Indianapolis prior to joining the Pirates and went 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA. In 11.2 innings, he allowed seven runs on 13 hits with four walks and nine strikeouts. Five of those seven runs came in one outing on Apr. 15. Since then, he’s thrown 4.2-scoreless innings across four appearances.
Stratton went 2-1 with a 3.58 ERA in 36 appearances with the Pirates last season. He notched his first save on March 31 in Miami and his first big-league win on Apr. 27 against the Giants in San Francisco.
In a game on Aug. 24 against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park, Stratton sustained a gruesome knee injury that ended his season and required surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon.
The Pirates will be without Santana for between three and seven days as permitted by the MLB Bereavement/Family Medical Emergency List.
Santana has made 13 relief appearances with the Pirates this season and is 0-1 with a 1.46 ERA and three saves. Since joining the team last season, the right-hander has a 2.22 ERA across 52 appearances.
With Santana unavailable for at least a few days and Justin Lawrence on the injured list, David Bednar is expected to handle leverage situations as the top active right-hander.
Pirates’ Moreta to Start Rehab
There’s news on one more right-hander reliever as Dauri Moreta will begin a rehab assignment with Low-A Bradenton on Tuesday night. Moreta has been out since the start of the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery that spring.
In a career-high 55 appearances in his first season with the Pirates in 2023, Moreta went 5-2 with a 3.72 ERA and one save. He finished second among team relievers with 76 strikeouts in 58 innings and held opponents to a .187 batting average.