Pittsburgh Pirates: Yoshi Tsutsugo Designated for Assignment, David Bednar to IL

Prior to the start of Wednesday night’s game the Pittsburgh Pirates designated Yoshi Tsutsugo for assignment, as well as placing David Bednar on the injured list

The Pittsburgh Pirates made a pair of roster moves prior to the start of Wednesday night’s game. First baseman/designated hitter Yoshi Tsutsugo has been designated for assignment and reliever David Bednar has been placed on the 15-day injured list. Utility man Tucupita Marcano and reliever Yohan Ramirez have been promoted to the major league roster.

Tsutsugo was putting together one of the worst offensive seasons in Pirate history. In 50 games and 193 plate appearances he hit for a .171/.249/.229 slash line, a 39 wRC+, and a -1.3 fWAR. Marcano showed promise in his stint with the Pirates earlier this season, especially defensively. Hopefully, Marcano will play on a close to daily basis moving forward.

Bednar to the injured list is also a move that appeared to be a long overdue. The 2022 All-Star has not pitched effectively or looked like himself on the mound for nearly two months. Since the start of June, Bednar has posted a 4.35 ERA in 20.2 innings pitched. He has allowed 20 hits, two of which were home runs, and he has walked batters at a 10% clip.

Hopefully, the IL stint will do Bednar well. Shutting him down for a few weeks is something that, in all honesty, should have been done a few weeks ago. Ever since his 50 pitch outing in Los Angeles at the end of May he has not been the same.

As for Ramirez, he has pitched 4.1 innings for Triple-A Indianapolis since being acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ramirez has not allowed a run, walking a batter, allowing just a single a base hit and striking out four. In 58.2 career MLB innings pitched with the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Guardians, Ramirez has a 3.99 ERA, 5.88 FIP, 15.1% walk rate and 27.8% strikeout rate.