Mitchell was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.
Mitchell played in 69 games during his first taste of the big leagues last year and had a .226/.286/.349 slash line with five home runs and three steals. He won't open 2023 on the MLB roster, with Bryan Reynolds, Jack Suwinski and Andrew McCutchen (elbow) poised to operate as the Pirates' primary outfielders.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Sitting again Wednesday
Rotowire
Mitchell is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.
Mitchell will remain on the bench with southpaw Matthew Liberatore on the bump for the Cardinals, marking the third straight absence for the lefty-hitting outfielder. With a .638 OPS over 231 plate appearances during his rookie season, Mitchell won't necessarily have a strong case to open the 2023 campaign in a near-everyday role for the Pirates.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Sits again Tuesday
Rotowire
Mitchell is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Cardinals.
Mitchel is 6-for-14 with two doubles, a walk, three runs and a stolen base over his past five games but will take a seat Tuesday for Pittsburgh's second straight contest. Bryan Reynolds, Ji Hwan Bae and Jack Suwinski will start from left to right in the outfield.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Out of Monday's lineup
Rotowire
Mitchell isn't starting Monday against the Cardinals.
Mitchell will head to the bench after he went 3-for-6 with two doubles, two walks and a strikeout over the last two games. Jack Suwinski will take his place in right field and bat eighth.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Heads to bench Friday
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Mitchell is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Cardinals.
Mitchell started the past four games and will take a seat after he went 3-for-13 with three walks, a run and a stolen base. Jack Suwinski will shift to right field while Ji-hwan Bae starts in right.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Swipes third bag
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Mitchell went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in a 4-1 win Tuesday over the Reds.
Mitchell singled in the second and walked and stole second in the fourth. He was replaced in the field in the eighth inning by Ben Gamel. It was his third stolen base of the season and second since Sept. 12. The 23-year-old has been on base often since returning to the majors at the beginning of September, walking 11 times in 74 plate appearances and posting a .351 OBP.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Not in lineup
Rotowire
Mitchell will sit Saturday against the Cubs.
Mitchell hasn't started a game against a lefty since his return to the majors at the start of September. That setup seems to be working fairly well for him, as he owns a respectable .725 OPS this month after struggling to a .577 OPS in his previous stints with the team. He'll sit against southpaw Wade Miley, with Diego Castillo getting the nod in right field.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Sits against left-hander
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Mitchell isn't starting Wednesday against Cincinnati.
Mitchell will head to the bench for the third time in the last five games since southpaw Nick Lodolo is starting for the Reds. Diego Castillo is starting in right field and batting sixth.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Slugs fifth homer
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Mitchell went 1-for-7 with a two-run home run across both games of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Reds.
Mitchell took Luis Cessa deep in the sixth inning of the first game of the Pirates' doubleheader. It was the fifth home run of his career and first since being recalled to the majors on Sep. 2. In 10 games since, Mitchell has maintained a .367 average with three RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base. Though he sits against most lefties, Mitchell has carved out a regular role in the Pittsburgh outfield.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Sits against lefty again
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Mitchell is out of the lineup for Monday's game in Cincinnati.
The lefty-hitting Mitchell will bow out of the lineup versus a lefty (Mike Minor) for the second game in a row. Greg Allen will fill in for Mitchell in the corner outfield.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Catches breather Sunday
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Mitchell is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
Mitchell reached base seven times over the last two games, but he will be held out Sunday with the Pirates facing lefty Jose Quintana. Greg Allen will start in right field in Mitchell's place.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Perfect day at plate
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Mitchell went 3-for-3 with a run scored, a walk and an RBI in Friday's 8-2 win over St. Louis.
He came home on Oneil Cruz's triple in the fifth inning, and Mitchell later poked his own RBI single in the eighth. He's now 7-for-19 (.368) with two runs scored through six games since being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. On the year, he's slashing .224/.269/.340 with 14 RBI and 14 runs scored through 50 contests.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Reaches base twice in return
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Mitchell went 1-for-2 with a walk Friday against the Blue Jays.
Mitchell was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday when rosters expanded, and he was in the lineup Friday thanks to the absence of Ben Gamel (foot). Mitchell had a breakout season with Triple-A Indianapolis, maintaining a .406 wOBA and 146 wRC+ across 261 plate appearances. He's also had 149 plate appearances in Pittsburgh but maintained only a .209/.250/.338 line in that sample.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Returns to majors
Rotowire
Mitchell was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.
Mitchell was sent to the minors in early August and performed well with the Triple-A club over the last few weeks. He recorded hits in 16 of his 17 games following his demotion and slashed .375/.438/.688 with four home runs, two triples, four doubles, 14 RBI, 13 runs and a stolen base. He hit just .204 over 44 big-league games but should have a chance to earn playing time with the Pirates down the stretch.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Raking since return to Triple-A
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Mitchell has hit safely in 14 of 15 games since being demoted to Triple-A Indianapolis, posting a .352/.429/.648 line with three homers, a steal, 12 RBI and 11 runs in that time.
He's hit his first two triples of the season during this hot streak as well. All in all, the 23-year-old Mitchell has a .917 OPS in Triple-A this season. He hasn't found the big leagues quite as accommodating, though. Where Mitchell has posted a 15.1 percent strikeout rate in Triple-A, it's 24.7 in his 44 MLB games, and his stat line has suffered accordingly (.577 OPS). Nonetheless, Mitchell has shown enough in the minors that he'll likely find his way back to the big-league roster in September with an eye on making the team out of spring training next season.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Sent to minors
Rotowire
Mitchell was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday.
Mitchell is 1-for-17 with an RBI and a run over his past six games and will make his way back to the minors. Rodolfo Castro was called up from Indianapolis in a corresponding move.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Resting Saturday
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Mitchell will sit Saturday against the Orioles.
Mitchell hits the bench after starting six straight games. He went hitless in his last four contests. Ben Gamel will get the start in right field, with Greg Allen starting in left.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Hits fourth home run
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Mitchell went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a 2-1 loss to the Phillies on Saturday.
Mitchell's home run was the only offense that the Pirates could muster in the low-scoring affair. Despite not being touted as a high-powered bat, the rookie outfielder now has four home runs in 37 games this season and is slugging .455 in July. Mitchell should continue to see plenty of playing time in a Pirates lineup that is focused on developing for the future, so it is worth monitoring how his bat plays at the major-league level.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Not starting Friday
Rotowire
Mitchell isn't in the lineup Friday against the Phillies.
Mitchell started the last six games and hit .273 with a homer, four runs and three RBI, but he'll head to the bench with lefty Bailey Falter on the mound for the Phillies. Diego Castillo will take over in right field and bat sixth.
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Pirates' Cal Mitchell: Tallies third homer
Rotowire
Mitchell went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run and two runs scored Thursday against the Phillies.
Mitchell has started six consecutive games since the All-Star break, going 6-for-22 with three RBI and four runs scored. The Pirates have several options in the outfield, but so long as Jack Suwinski remains in the minors and Jake Marisnick (toe) is sidelined, Mitchell should have a relatively clear path to playing time. Across 118 plate appearances this season, he has a .216/.254/.342 slash line with three home runs, 10 runs scored and 10 RBI.
