Pirates DFA fan favorite, demote Gold Glover to add wild card to bullpen mix

Ahead of their series opener against the Twins, the Pirates announced a roster shuffle to get their bullpen back up to full strength.

After losing Chase Shugart to the injured list, Pittsburgh concluded their series in Kanas City with just seven relievers. Now they have filled in that hole by selecting the contract of Yohan Ramirez and designating Matt Gorski for assignment to open a spot on the 40 man roster. They also optioned Jared Triolo to Triple-A.

Triolo's demotion was a long time coming, as he could not catch a groove at the plate in a very limited role. Often coming in to pinch run or a defensive adjustment, Triolo was not getting much time at the plate and had collected just two hits in his last 37 at bats. His 44 wRC+ just was not good enough to stay up in Pittsburgh, even with his Gold Glove around the infield.

While Triolo's demotion was somewhat expected, while the DFA of Gorski came out of nowhere. He had been on the minor league injured list for a while after being optioned to Triple-A earlier this season. He had been a player fans wanted to see get playing time for a while with his high barrel rates and home runs, but his 38.9% whiff and 38.1% strikeout rate were completely unserviceable.

Pirates shake up infield with Jared Triolo demotion and Matt Gorski DFA while bringing up Yohan Ramirez to fill in bullpen.

These moves put the future of the Pirates infield in a questionable spiral. Spencer Horwitz no longer has Triolo or Gorski to platoon with him at first base against left-handed pitching. There also is not a third baseman to play when Ke'Bryan Hayes needs a day off. Isiah Kiner-Falefa could play there, but Triolo was also the backup shortstop.

Ramirez had pitched for the Pirates in 2022 and 2023 but did not return in 2024, playing for four other organizations since then. He returned to Pittsburgh on a minor league deal last offseason and found a groove in Triple-A, pitching to a 3.19 ERA with a 3.75 FIP and a 11.90 K/9.

Ramirez has always had good pitches, just worrisome control, so Pittsburgh needs some success out of him with mutliple relievers on the trade block.

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