The Pittsburgh Pirates reshuffled their bullpen on Tuesday afternoon, adding three fresh arms to the mix. They have placed pitchers Joaquin Benoit and George Kontos on the disabled list and optioned Dovydas Neverauskas to Indianapolis. In their place, Steven Brault, Johnny Barbato and Edgar Santana have all been recalled. Benoit is listed as having left knee inflammation, while Kontos has been out the last couple days with a right groin strain.
Steven Brault hasn’t pitched since being sent down to Indianapolis four days ago. Yesterday, Brian Peloza was told that he was going to move to the bullpen, getting him ready for a September role. He was eligible to be recalled since two players were put on the DL, which eliminates the need for him to spend ten days in the minors.
Santana has struggled a bit lately with his fastball control, which is why he hasn’t been up sooner. The results have been better in his last few games, but he still has a 5.06 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP in 16 innings since the Triple-A All-Star break last month.
Barbato has put up a 3.26 ERA in 24 appearances with Indianapolis. In 30.1 innings, he has a .217 BAA, 1.15 WHIP and 28 strikeouts.
Neverauskas has been used for the last three nights with the Pirates, so he wouldn’t have been available tonight. He will be eligible to come back once rosters expand on September 1st.
