MLB Player News

The Pirates recalled Bolton from Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday.

He'll give Pittsburgh a fresh arm out of the bullpen after the Pirates needed four relievers to cover the final six innings of Saturday's 5-0 loss after starter Vince Velasquez recorded just six outs before departing with right elbow discomfort. The Pirates placed Velasquez on the 15-day injured list to create room on the 26-man active roster for Bolton, who gave up three earned runs and struck out five in six innings across his prior three appearances out of the big-league bullpen this season.

McCarthy will start in right field and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Red Sox.

McCarthy will man right field for the third game in a row after he went 1-for-5 with a double, a walk and a stolen base between his first two contests since returning from Triple-A Reno. With Dominic Fletcher now back in the minors, McCarthy looks like he'll handle an everyday role in the Arizona outfield. Despite his struggles over 76 plate appearances in the majors this season (.487 OPS), McCarthy makes for an intriguing speculative pickup off the waiver wire due to the stolen-base upside he displayed with Arizona in 2022.

Martinez went 2-for-5 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's 11-10 loss to Tampa Bay.

Martinez has now logged a hit in 12 straight games, going 18-for-53 with five homers in that span. The 35-year-old veteran has had an incredible month of May, batting .313 with six homers. Martinez boosted his slash line to .276/.315/.586 with eight homers and 33 RBI through 165 plate appearances this season.

Suwinski is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mariners.

Connor Joe will join Ji Hwan Bae and Andrew McCutchen in the outfield while the lefty-hitting Suwinski heads to the bench with southpaw Marco Gonzales on the bump for Seattle. Suwinski had started in each of the Bucs' last eight games, going 8-for-31 with four extra-base hits (two home runs, two doubles), six RBI and four runs.

Marcano is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mariners.

Marcano will give way to platoon mate Chris Owings at shortstop while the Pirates stock up on extra right-handed bats to counter Mariners southpaw Marco Gonzales. Over his past seven games, Marcano has been one of the better-performing hitters in a struggling Pittsburgh lineup; he's gone 7-for-25 with a pair of home runs, three doubles, two stolen bases, seven RBI and four runs over that stretch.

Joe will start in left field and bat third in Sunday's game against the Mariners.

Joe appeared to be slipping into a short-side platoon role last weekend, but he's now found himself in the lineup for four consecutive games, with two of those starts coming versus right-handed pitching. He's still hitting just .200 and has struck out 30.9 percent of the time in May, so Joe likely doesn't have a long leash atop the depth chart in a corner-outfield spot.

Thompson went 3-for-3 with a homer and two RBI in Sunday's 11-10 loss to the Rays.

Thompson snapped an 0-for-36 stretch in style Sunday, driving in a run with a base hit in the second inning before homering off Josh Fleming in the fifth. It had been over a month since Thompson recorded a hit, his last coming on April 17. He's now slashing .147/.301/.368 with five home runs and 14 RBI in 83 plate appearances while coming off the bench for the Dodgers.

Taylor went 3-for-3 with two homers and three runs scored in Sunday's 11-10 loss against Tampa Bay.

Taylor smacked a pair of solo shots off Rays' starter Josh Fleming, loudly ending a 14-game stretch without a homer. Sunday's performance may be what Taylor needed to get back on track -- he'd gone just 5-for-36 with a .406 OPS since May 9. Overall, the 32-year-old utilityman is batting .213/.276/.500 with nine homers, 21 RBI, 20 runs scored and four stolen bases in 134 plate appearances this season.

The Pirates placed Velasquez on the 15-day injured list Sunday with right elbow discomfort, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

After returning Saturday from a stint on the 15-day IL due to elbow inflammation, Velasquez lasted just two innings into his start against the Mariners before succumbing to a related injury. The Pirates haven't provided a firm diagnosis or timeline for Velasquez's return, but in light of his latest elbow-related setback, the right-hander acknowledged that he'll likely be in store for a longer period of time off than he had during his first stint on the IL, per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Velasquez added that he's confident he'll be able to pitch again this season, but his absence for at least the next few weeks should reopen the door for the struggling Roansy Contreras to re-enter the rotation.

Stone did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing seven runs on 10 hits over two innings against the Rays. He struck out three.

It was a nightmare of an outing for Stone, who allowed seven runs on 10 hits over just two innings. Stone has allowed 16 earned runs over his first three MLB starts (10 innings), putting his ERA at 14.40 with a 3.00 WHIP and 5:7 K:BB. The Dodgers still view Stone as a long-term rotation piece, but he doesn't seem ready to face MLB lineups yet.