Pirates make early decision on bullpen depth with quick demotion

The Pittsburgh Pirates have sent right-hander Michael Darrell-Hicks outright to Triple-A Indianapolis, indicating that he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week.

The Pirates will get to keep Darrell-Hicks, whom they claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels in June, as non-roster depth. He posted a disastrous 8.45 ERA through 38 1/3 innings at Triple-A in 2025, but his minor league track record from 2022-24 suggests last season was an outlier.

The move to outright Darrell-Hicks is more procedural than it is headline-grabbing, but it tells fans a few quiet truths about where the Pirates’ bullpen stands — and what still needs to happen.

Pirates outright Michael Darrell-Hicks to Triple-A, with more work to be done to improve the bullpen

By outrighting Darrell-Hicks to Triple-A, the Pirates essentially kept a safety net. He’s a live-armed righty who throws hard but hasn’t yet proven he can stick in a major league bullpen. Clearing waivers means every other team passed, which also tells you something about how the rest of baseball views him: intriguing depth piece, not a lock for a 26-man roster. Keeping him in Indianapolis gives the Pirates an extra option for midseason help — a low-cost arm who can soak innings if injuries hit or another reliever falters.

But let’s be clear: moves like this aren’t how a bullpen gets better. They’re how you avoid running out of bodies. The Pirates’ 2025 bullpen was wildly inconsistent — flashes of dominance, long stretches of volatility, and no true late-inning anchor once David Bednar was traded to the New York Yankees.

So yes, Ben Cherington and company will absolutely look to upgrade this winter. They have to. Whether that means a veteran setup arm on a one-year deal or a more aggressive swing at a controllable reliever via trade will depend on how real Cherington's “payroll flexibility” claim turns out to be.

Outrighting Darrell-Hicks keeps organizational depth intact, but it doesn’t change the big picture in Pittsburgh (and requires further roster moves for us to ever see him again). The Pirates still need at least one high-leverage reliever — maybe two — if they want their 2026 bullpen to be more than just patchwork and potential.