Pittsburgh Pirates News

Cruz was forced to exit Saturday's game with a left knee injury. The good news is an MRI came back negative, per Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com, but there's no reason to push Cruz to play during the regular-season finale. He will finish the 2026 campaign having hit .280/.368/.486 with 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases over just 97 contests.

The lefty-swinging Cruz will retreat to the bench as the Cardinals send left-hander Matthew Liberatore to the bump. Jake Mangum will patrol center field and will bat ninth for the Pirates.

Keller has remained shut down since being diagnosed with a right teres major strain in early August. The rest appears to have accomplished its goal thus far, and Keller looks to be on track to have a normal offseason throwing program. Keller held a 5.29 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 89:42 K:BB over 115.2 innings for the Pirates this season.

Ashcraft landed on the 15-day injured list last week with right arm discomfort. He received multiple medical opinions and his injury is not considered serious, but the Pirates will not push the right-hander to return before the end of the season. Ashcraft had a breakout year for Pittsburgh, logging a 3.65 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 173:35 K:BB over 165.1 innings covering 28 starts.

The Pirates have yet to provide an update on Valdez's status after he exited Friday's game with a left hamstring injury, though he will need at least one day off to recover. Jake Mangum will start in right field Saturday and could continue to do so if Valdez needs to spend time on the IL.

Valdez grounded out to shortstop in the top of the sixth inning and almost immediately came up limping after exiting the batter's box. The Pirates could have more information on his status after the game, but it's an injury that could end the rookie's season. Valdez was 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts in the game before exiting.

Ashcraft opened with three scoreless frames but stumbled late, departing with a 3-0 deficit at just 67 pitches. The 26-year-old has now yielded three earned runs or fewer in seven straight outings, but he's exceeded 90 pitches just once in that span and appears to be having his workload limited down the stretch. He owns a 3.65 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 173:35 K:BB across 165.1 innings this season and lines up for a road matchup with the Cubs next weekend.

The right-hander has been shuttled between Triple-A and the majors throughout the season and is now getting another look with the Pirates. Mattson has pitched in 37 MLB games this season and has a 4.91 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 34:18 K:BB over 36.2 innings.

O'Hearn has not played in a game since he went down with a left quad strain in late July, but he's been cleared to test things out at the Pirates' top minor-league affiliate. The 31-year-old is aiming to be reinstated to the active roster ahead of this weekend's series at Wrigley Field against the Cubs.

On the shelf since Aug. 1 due to a left quad strain, O'Hearn resumed taking part in light baseball activities just over two weeks later after sustaining the injury and recently moved his rehab program to Pittsburgh. O'Hearn appears to have steered clear of any setbacks while ramping up and is now ready to move on to the final phase of his recovery by getting in some competitive at-bats in minor-league games. The 31-year-old is believed to be targeting a return from the injured list during next weekend's series in Chicago versus the Cubs, but the Pirates will wait and see how he fares on his rehab assignment before deciding when he'll be activated.

Yates hasn't pitched since Saturday, so it could be an injury that's nagged at him for a while. The veteran reliever will be eligible for activation Sept. 15, though it's unclear at this point if he will be ready to go on that date. Khristian Curtis is grabbing Yates's roster spot.

O'Hearn has been ramping up baseball activities as he works his way back from a left quad strain, noting Thursday of his rehab that there's "still a ways to go but I'm trending in the right direction." The 33-year-old has missed the last five weeks of action, so he will likely require a few rehab games before rejoining the Pirates' active roster.

Griffin has rejoined the Pirates in Pittsburgh after going 3-for-11 in three rehab games, and he will return to the active roster Friday on the first day he's eligible. The rookie shortstop has been sidelined for the past two months with a torn sagittal band on his left ring finger. With Griffin taking back over at shortstop this weekend, Jacob Gonzalez could be mixed in some at third base down the stretch for the Pirates.

The transaction clears space on the 40-man roster for the addition of Christian Bethancourt. Rodriguez underwent season-ending surgery last week to repair the labrum in his left hip.

On the shelf since July 6 due to a torn sagittal band on his left ring finger, Griffin is closing in on a return to the Pirates' active roster after he kicked off his rehab assignment over the weekend. In his lone game with Altoona on Sunday, Griffin went 1-for-3 with two strikeouts while playing seven innings at shortstop. The star rookie checked out fine after being evaluated by team trainers Monday and will now get a few more games under his belt at Indianapolis before likely coming off the 60-day injured list when first eligible Friday.

Griffin was making the first appearance of his minor-league rehab assignment after missing over a month and a half with a torn tendon in his left ring finger. The 20-year-old will be in Pittsburgh on Monday for further evaluation, and the team is expected to determine the next steps in his recovery thereafter. Griffin is eligible to be activated from the 60-day injured list Friday, and he might be on track to return that day.

Griffin has been out since early July due to a torn tendon in his left ring finger, but after ditching his splint and ramping up baseball activities over the past couple of weeks, he's now ready to test his finger in a competitive environment. He'll likely require a handful of minor-league at-bats after spending such a long time on the sidelines, but he should be on track to return sometime in early September.

Rodriguez is expected to resume baseball activities in 7-to-9 months, ruling him out for the rest of 2026 and likely the early portion of the 2027 campaign as well. The 26-year-old will finish the season with a .267/.373/.467 slash line alongside seven homers, 20 RBI, 20 runs scored and six steals across 158 plate appearances in the majors. With Rodriguez out, Rafael Flores and Henry Davis figure to split starts behind the plate for the rest of the season.

Griffin is currently working out at the Pirates' facility in Florida. Manager Don Kelly didn't have many details, but he said the initial reports indicate the session went well. Griffin is trending toward a return in early September.

Griffin is at the Pirates' facility in Florida as he ramps up his rehab. Manager Don Kelly didn't have much detail, but he said the initial reports indicate the session went well. Griffin is trending toward a return in early September.