Pittsburgh Pirates Activate Trevor Williams Off Of The Injured List

PITTSBURGH, PA - MAY 04: Trevor Williams #34 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch in the first inning during the game against the Oakland Athletics at PNC Park on May 4, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - MAY 04: Trevor Williams #34 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch in the first inning during the game against the Oakland Athletics at PNC Park on May 4, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
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After missing a little over a month, one of the Pittsburgh Pirates best starting pitchers is back from their injured list stint

23 different Pittsburgh Pirates players have spent time on the injured list this season. One of these players is starting pitcher Trevor Williams.

In a start on May 16th against the San Diego Padres, Williams exited with a side strain. The next day, he was placed on the 10-day IL. However, his return is now here.

This past weekend, the Pirates announced that Williams would start on Wednesday night against the Detroit Tigers. Well, this move is now official as Williams has been activated off of the 10-day IL.

Prior to going on the IL, Williams continued to, quietly, be one of the best starting pitchers in the National League. In nine starts this season, Williams posted a 3.33 ERA and a 3.37 FIP in 54 innings pitched. He allowed four home runs, his walk rate was 4.5%, and his strikeout rate was 18.8% in these 54 innings pitched.

On June 8th, Williams threw a 64 pitch simulated game in Milwaukee. After this, he tackled a rehab start with Triple-A Indianapolis. In this rehab start he allowed a 2 runs, issued a walk, and struck out five in 3 innings of work. These two outings now have Williams ready to return to the Big Leagues.

Getting Williams back in the fold will be a big boost for a much maligned Pirate starting rotation. Hopefully, Trevor will pick up where he left off at before his injury. It is time for Williams to continue to prove to – quietly – be one of the best starting pitchers in the NL.

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To make room off Williams on the roster, the team optioned Mitch Keller back to the Triple-A level. While this move is not a huge surprise as the Pirates will not need a fifth starter again until the 29th and Jordan Lyles should be back by then, it is still a tad disappointing. Keller turned in the best start of his career last night, and it would have been intriguing to see him get to build on that with another start.