The Pirates announced a series of roster moves this morning, headlined by the club placing left-hander Bailey Falter on the 15-day Injured List. The club selected right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. to take Falter’s spot on the active roster, and designated left-hander Justin Bruihl for assignment to clear space on the 40-man roster for Honeywell. The club also activated catcher Henry Davis from the IL and optioned him to Triple-A.
Falter, 27, was removed from his start against the Mets yesterday after just two innings of work. As noted by Alex Stumpf of MLB.com, the club announced that lefty had been removed from the game due to left posterior arm discomfort. Falter was considered day-to-day after the game and received treatment from the club’s medical staff. The hurler seemed unfazed by the injury following the game, telling reporters (including Stumpf) that he wasn’t concerned and that they’d know more about the issue today.
It’s still not entirely clear how serious the injury is or how long Falter will be out, but the club will at least be without the southpaw for the next 15 days. That’s a significant blow to the Pirates’ rotation as Falter has provided steady back-of-the-rotation production for the club this year with a 4.08 ERA (100 ERA+) and 4.48 FIP in 90 1/3 innings of work this year. That loss becomes all the more significant given the club’s placement of right-hander Jared Jones on the shelf earlier this week due to a right lat strain, leaving the Pirates with just Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, and Martin Perez as healthy members of their regular starting rotation.
Right-hander Luis Ortiz is scheduled to make his second start of the year later today in Jones’s stead, but to replace Falter in the rotation it seems likely the club would have to dip into their minor league depth. Right-hander Braxton Ashcraft is one of the club’s top pitching prospects and is already on the 40-man roster, but only just recently came off the minor league IL and may not be ready for a promotion to the majors. That could leave Pittsburgh to turn to a non-roster veteran such as Jake Woodford or Domingo German in search of innings.
In the meantime, the club will turn to Honeywell in order to deepen their bullpen mix. The 29-year-old righty signed a minor league deal with Pittsburgh back in February and is best known for his time in the Rays system as a top prospect. A lengthy series of injuries that included Tommy John surgery and multiple elbow fractures left Honeywell to pitch just 103 1/3 innings in professional games from 2018 to 2022, but the righty nonetheless managed to make to the majors last year with the Padres. He posted a decent 4.05 ERA in 46 2/3 innings of work with the club but was pushed off the roster down the stretch last summer and ended up with the White Sox, with whom he was lit up for seven runs in just 5 2/3 innings of work.
In Triple-A with the Pirates this year, Honeywell has a 4.85 ERA in 39 innings of work with a 19.6% strikeout rate and a 10.1% walk rate. Making room for Honeywell on the 40-man roster is Bruihl, who the club signed to a major league deal last month. The lefty enjoyed some success with the Dodgers early in his career, pitching to a 3.65 ERA and 4.47 FIP in 65 appearances for the club from 2021 to 2023. Bruihl found himself shipped to Colorado at the trade deadline last year, however, and was lit up for seven runs (six earned) in 3 2/3 innings of work for the Rockies. The lefty struggled similarly during his time with Pittsburgh, posting a 9.53 ERA across seven appearances in a Pirates uniform.
Meanwhile, Davis is set to head back to the minors after being placed on the concussion IL last month. Joey Bart returned from the injured list at the end of June and reclaimed his spot alongside veteran Yasmani Grandal in the club’s catching tandem, leaving no room for the first overall selection of the 2021 draft in Pittsburgh’s catching mix. He’ll look to get regular reps behind the plate in Triple-A, although he clearly has nothing left to prove offensively in the minors given his career .336/.472/.629 slash line at the level.