Pirates Select Bolton, Activate Reynolds in Slew of Roster Moves

The Pittsburgh Pirates have promoted RHP Cody Bolton has been called up from Triple-A Indianapolis. In response, the Pirates have sent down Canaan Smith-Njigba to Triple-A.

To make room on the 40-man, the Pirates have DFAd, catcher, Tyler Heineman.

In addition, the Pirates have placed Wil Crowe on the 15-day injured list with right-shoulder discomfort. Crowe last pitched On April 17, where he pitched 1.1 innings and gave up two earned in the Pirates’ 14-3 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Bolton has had a really good start to his season, coming strictly out of the bullpen for the Indians.

In 11.1 innings pitched, Bolton has posted an ERA of 2.38 with a K/9 of 11.12 and a relatively low BB/9 of 1.59. One of the good things for Bolton thus far is he has yet to give up a long ball, and he’s held opponents to a .195 average.

In addition, Bolton has left 72.7% of the runners on base and has an extremely low FIP of 1.77.

Smith-Njigba has struggled so far for the Pirates in 2023 with a slash line of .125/.216/.219 and an OPS of .435. One of the biggest indicators of Smith-Njigba’s issues is his .071 average against breaking balls.

With Smith-Njigba going down to Triple-A, the Pirates are now able to bring Reynolds off of the bereavement list and insert him into the lineup. He will bat second and play left field.