Pittsburgh Pirates: Two Arms Coming Back from 2023 Surgeries

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been adding to their roster for the upcoming season. The team has brought in a couple of pitchers already in Marcos Gonzales and reportedly Martin Perez. There are also rumors of the team potentially bringing in one more starter.

Something else to consider for the 2024 season will be the return of two important pitchers. JT Brubaker, a seasoned right-hander, was on track for what many thought would be a breakout 2023 before undergoing Tommy John Surgery in April to end his 2023 season before it even started. In 2022

Brubaker posted a 4.02 ERA in the first half of the season, showing that he was taking steps forward. However, things unraveled in the second half and he finished the year with an ERA of 4.69. With him then undergoing surgery in 2023, it is easy to speculate that maybe his arm started to have issues during the second half of 2022.

Another key player is Michael Burrows, a promising prospect whose debut got delayed due to Tommy John surgery in April. Though he missed his 2023 debut, Burrows remains a top prospect who is knocking on the Big League door. The borderline top 100 prospects actually ranked as the Pirates 4th best prospect entering the 2023 season by FanGraphs who labeled him as a 45+ future value along with 3 plus offerings.

The return of JT Bruabker and Michael Burrows will strengthen the Pittsburgh Pirates pitching rotation in 2024.

While the team should not be relying on these two, they both could provide nice boosts to the rotation by mid-season. After all, pitchers frequently visit the Injury List, and having some quality depth coming back in these two will be nice. Will they be the same pitchers they were before? Who knows, but the team should get a chance to see what they have this year.