Wilber Dotel (lat) starts rehab assignment

Dotel’s stay with the Pirates lasted just two games this time around as he gets optioned out to free up a spot on the active roster for Hunter Braco. The 23-year-old righty has registered a 4.71 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and a 31/13 K/BB ratio over 28 2/3 innings with the Pirates this season.

He’ll get another chance to settle in after developing a lat strain in July. Dotel had a 5.06 ERA in 26 2/3 innings in the bigs earlier this season.

Dotel has a 5.06 ERA in 26 2/3 innings with the Pirates this season. The 23-year-old has slowed down after the impressive beginning to his MLB career, but the future is still bright for him out of the bullpen.

Dotel will serve as Pittsburgh’s 27th man for Saturday’s doubleheader against the Guardians, which enables the club to add him to the roster without sending anyone down. The 23-year-old rookie has shown some flashes of potential while pitching to a serviceable 5.89 ERA and 19/9 K/BB ratio across 18 1/3 innings this season. He’s been out with a lat strain since mid-June.

It’s a tough development for Dotel, who has shown flashes of significant upside during his rookie campaign, as lat strain-related absences are typically measured in months, not weeks. The 23-year-old has posted an encouraging 5.89 ERA (3.28 xERA), 1.36 WHIP and a 19/9 K/BB ratio across 18 1/3 innings.

Dotel is one of the best pitching prospects in the Pirates system and has delivered in a small MLB sample size this year, posting a 1.35 ERA and 4/3 K/BB ratio across 6 2/3 innings over three appearances. He should immediately help in the middle innings but could be a factor in the later innings down the stretch if he keeps pitching at this level.

This certainly qualifies as a surprise after Dotel spun four perfect innings during a bulk relief appearance against the Cardinals on Monday. The 23-year-old rookie has vastly outperformed expectations with a microscopic 1.35 ERA and 4/3 K/BB ratio across 6 2/3 innings over three appearances this season. He’ll presumably be back at some point in a couple weeks when the Pirates need some long relief depth.

With all eyes on the Battle of Pennsylvania between the Flyers and Penguins, Dotel and the Pirates nearly threw the first combined perfect game in baseball history. The 23-year-old rookie took over after Mason Montgomey and Justin Lawrence retired six straight batters to open the contest. He sat down all 12 batters he faced, recording three strikeouts in the process, before handing the ball to Evan Sisk in the seventh. He notched a pair of outs before Alec Burleson broke up the perfecto and no-hitter with an infield single. In case you were wondering, the closest any team came previously was the Rays back in 2019 when Ryan Yarbrough and Ryne Stanek took a perfect-game bid into the ninth inning before giving up a hit.

Dotel will follow Mason Montgomery, who likely will get an inning or two before giving way. The 23-year-old has made two appearances since being recalled from Indianapolis with a 3.38 ERA and 1/3 K/BB ratio over 2 1/3 innings.

It’s the first trip to the big leagues for the 23-year-old hurler. Dotel was knocked around in his first three starts at Triple-A Indianapolis, registering a cringe-inducing 6.28 ERA, 1.74 WHIP and a 13/7 K/BB ratio across 14 1/3 innings. He’ll add length to the Pirates’ bullpen but probably won’t be used unless it’s an emergency situation or the game is out of reach.