The Pirates made a move to add a 13th pitcher to the active roster Thursday afternoon, recalling left-hander Jose Hernandez and optioning outfielder Jack Suwinski to Class AAA Indianapolis.
Following Ji Hwan Bae's promotion to the big-league club and Ryder Ryan's demotion to Indy on Tuesday, the Pirates had been working with 12 total pitchers and 14 position players. Hernandez, who has allowed one run on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings at the major-league level this season, will join Aroldis Chapman in giving the Pirates a left-handed option out of the bullpen.
Suwinski's demotion to Indy comes after a 49-game sample in which he hit .174 (24 for 138) with a .565 OPS. He hit four home runs and drove in 13 runs, while striking out at a 25.5% rate. Suwinski will have the opportunity to try and press the reset button, as he joins the fold at the Class AAA level for only the second time in his career. He hit .214 with six homers and 18 RBIs in 31 games with the Indians during the 2022 season.
After Thursday's game, Derek Shelton said consistency is the main thing the organization wants to see out of Suwinski during his time in Indy.
"We've seen Jack perform at the major-league level and this year I think he got in between a lot. He got off the fastball," Shelton said. "Jack's a big part of what we're gonna do here so we need to get him going. It's important for him to get going."
