ALTOONA, Pa. -- The Pirates found themselves in a pinch Tuesday and needed some minor-league players to fill in for Bryan Reynolds and Cole Tucker, so they called up a couple of guys from Class AA Altoona.
It made perfect sense. The Curve are playing just 110 miles away in Akron, Ohio, this week, while Triple-A Indianapolis is all the way out in Iowa. So, it was easy to call up outfielder Jack Suwinski and utility man Tucupita Marcano and have them get to Pittsburgh in short time to be ready for Tuesday night's game against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park.
Lots of major-league clubs call up players from Class AA from time to time, usually when in a bit of a pinch. And proximity can often be a factor, meaning perhaps the Class AA guys are closer than the Class AAA club, which was the case for the Pirates in this situation.
Still, this situation was historic when it comes to the Pirates and their longtime affiliate in Altoona.
It marked the first time ever that two Altoona Curve players were called up directly to the Pirates in the same day during the season.
How rare is it for the Pirates to call up a prospect directly from Altoona in midseason?
Well, prior to Tuesday it had only been done nine times since 1999, when the Curve franchise debuted.
And it didn't happen at all from 2009 until 2021, a span of 12 years, with former general manager Neal Huntington refusing to ever make such a leap involving a Class AA prospect during that time.
This was the entire list of players who had been promoted directly from Altoona to Pittsburgh from 1999 until Tuesday:
* C Yamid Haad, 1999
* LHP Brian O'Connor, 2000
* RHP Steve Sparks, 2000
* RHP Ian Snell, 2004
* OF Ray Sadler, 2005
* RHP Romulo Sanchez, 2007
* RHP Luis Munoz, 2008
* RHP Yoslan Herrera, 2008
* OF Rodolfo Castro, 2021
That's it. Those nine made up the entire list, until Suwinski and Marcano were added to it Tuesday. (Note: This list doesn't include rehab players or former big leaguers who might have been working their way back to the majors and needed a quick stop in Altoona, i.e. pitcher Nick Kingham.)
It's not exactly a murderer's row of prospects, as you can tell. And all call-ups were done for either emergency purposes or when there was a desperate need for a pitcher. Catcher Yamid Haad, for instance, was the first Curve player ever to reach the major leagues back in 1999, getting called up briefly when Jason Kendall broke his leg.
Just because GM Ben Cherington has now called up three Class AA players in two years doesn't necessarily mean he has any plans to continue that practice in the future. The Castro scenario last year was because the Pirates were in a pinch with outfielders, and certainly Tuesday's situation with Suwinski and Marcano was unique.
Still, having two Curve players called up to the majors on the same day at least made for some interesting minor-league history.
