Pittsburgh Pirates News: Team Activates Kyle Crick From Paternity List

Prior to Sunday afternoon’s rubber match against the Chicago Cubs the Pittsburgh Pirates made a roster move to bolster the bullpen

Sunday morning the Pittsburgh Pirates activated reliever Kyle Crick from the paternity list. To make room for him on the active roster, the Pirates optioned fellow right-handed pitcher Wil Crowe to their alternate training site.

Crick pitched his way onto the Opening Day roster with his performance in Grapefruit League play. While his fastball velocity was not back to its pre-2020 levels, his slider looked as wicked and hard to hit as ever.

In seven Grapefruit League appearances Crick posted a 1.35 ERA in 6.2 innings pitched. Crick allowed four hits, walked three and struck out 10 in his 6.2 innings of work. With this performance, he solidified a spot on the Opening Day roster.

However, due to going on the paternity list Crick was not available for Opening Day. With this being the birth of his first child, it is likely an Opening Day Crick was more than willing to miss. Also, congratulations to the Crick family! Especially with it being a family that has gone through a lot of personal loss in the last calendar year.

Look for Crick to have an opportunity to seize a high leverage role in the Pirate bullpen. If Crick can continue to pitch the way he did in Grapefruit League play, he will quickly become a key cog in the Pirate bullpen the way he was in 2018 and 2019.

Crowe made his Pirate debut in Saturday’s 5-1 loss against the Cubs. Crowe faced five batters, allowing a run on a hit, two walks, two wild pitches and two strikeouts. At the alternate training site Crowe will likely work as a starting pitcher and fans should see him in Pittsburgh’s starting rotation at some point this season.