Pirates confirm young pitcher's season is over, but injury reveal will calm nerves

Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Thomas Harrington hasn't pitched since Aug. 28, and the team announced this week that he is officially done for the season.

Harrington threw just one scoreless inning in his last outing for Triple-A Indianapolis, exiting after 14 pitches. He was placed on the injured list the following day – marking his second stint on the IL in the same month – with a re-aggravated groin injury.

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk confirmed this week that Harrington will not pitch again this season, though he shared an encouraging update on his progress. Per Tomczyk, Harrington is feeling better and even playing light catch, but there simply isn't enough time for him to get back into game shape before Indianapolis ends their season this week.

Groin injuries are notorious for taking a long time to heal, but Pirates fans can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the injury isn't to Harrington's arm as they look ahead to a 2026 season that could see him factor into Pittsburgh's pitching plans at the Major League level.

Pirates fans hoping for bounce back season from Thomas Harrington in 2026

Harrington made his MLB debut with the Pirates on April 1 and struggled significantly, allowing six earned runs on seven hits and four walks with just two strikeouts over 90 pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The right-hander's second MLB appearance was out of the bullpen against the St. Louis Cardinals. He fared much better that time, closing out the final four innings of the Pirates' 8-4 win and becoming the first Pirates pitcher to earn a four-inning save since Jason Christiansen in 1998.

The Pirates sent Harrington back to Triple-A on April 10, and he remained with Indianapolis until being recalled a second time at the beginning of August. His third big-league outing was one he (and Pirates fans) would like to forget, as he gave up six earned runs while recording just two outs against the Colorado Rockies in what ended up being a 17-16 loss for Pittsburgh. Harrington then returned to Indianapolis and made one start before landing on the IL.

Harrington pitched in 21 games (20 starts) at Triple-A in 2025, posting a 7-9 record and a 5.34 ERA over 96 innings pitched. He fell out of MLB Pipeline's Top-100 prospect rankings earlier this season, but he is ranked as the Pirates' ninth-best prospect.

Hopefully, having an entire offseason (and then some) to recover from his injury will be a boost for Harrington as he and the Pirates hope for a bounce-back campaign in 2026.