Pirates end pitcher’s DFA limbo, trade him directly into playoff race with White Sox

With a little over a week until the trade deadline, it is very much trade season, and the Pittsburgh Pirates are right in the middle of everything. They are only one game back in the NL Wild Card race and have shown the ability to beat any team this year, although they have also shown the ability to punt away games they should never lose. The list of roster needs the Pirates have is pretty well-established at this point, but that doesn't mean that we won't see some housekeeping moves along the way.

It felt as though Pittsburgh had an interesting trade chip in Jose Urquidy up until the incredibly odd decision to designate him for assignment this past week. It felt as though that the Pirates could get something of value for him, but opted instead to make the hasty decision to DFA him as a short-term fix to their clogged roster.

However, everything seems to have worked out as the Pirates are sending Urquidy to the White Sox.

Pirates complete Jose Urquidy's exit with trade to the White Sox

This whole situation remains odd, and we need to find out more about what Pittsburgh actually ended up getting in return for Urquidy before deciding if they chose the correct path with him. However, given the lack of sellers on the market, one wonders if the Pirates may have messed up here and could have gotten closer to the deadline. Felix Doroteo is an intriguing young arm that missed plenty of bats this season, but he is also in rookie ball and not anywhere close to being ready for the majors.

While his short stint with the Pirates in the big leagues was short and ugly at times, Urquidy had been pitching well down in the minors. Across 17 starts at Triple-A in 2026, Urquidy posted a 3.66 ERA in 83.2 innings of work. Given his performance as a starter, combined with his track record in the majors, it was a mortal lock that he wasn't going to get through waivers unclaimed.

Again, what matters here is if Pittsburgh still managed to get something in return for Urquidy. Hopefully this wasn't another unforced error by the front office, although the stakes are admittedly pretty low here, given that Urquidy is a cheap rental at best.

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