Matt

Gorski

The 27-year-old slugger was released by the Pirates just before the All-Star break after slashing .195/.214/.390 with two homers, four RBI and a 16/1 K/BB ratio in 42 plate appearances with the big league club. He’ll presumably report to Triple-A Oklahoma City where he’ll function as extra depth for the Dodgers.

Gorski will get a fresh start elsewhere after hitting just .195 (8-for-41) with two homers in 15 games earlier this season in his first taste of the majors. The 27-year-old slugger has put up some decent power numbers at the Triple-A level and should be able to latch on somewhere else after passing through waivers unclaimed.

The Pirates needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for the arrival of Yohan Ramírez on Friday. Gorski hit just .195/.214/.390 with two homers and four RBI in 42 plate appearances with the Pirates this season. There’s a decent chance that he’ll pass through waivers unclaimed and continue to function as extra depth for the Bucs.

Gorski will head back to Triple-A after slashing .195/.214/.390 with a pair of homers in his limited action with Pittsburgh. He’ll get regular playing time in the minors with Spencer Horwitz activated off the injured list to take Gorski’s place on the roster.

Both the Pirates and Mets did little offensively in this one, with Gorski and his teammate Jared Triolo providing all of the combined run production from both sides with a pair of two-run shots. Gorski’s homer was crushed though. It travelled an estimated 407 feet through a brief downpour of rain on a hanging sweeper from Clay Holmes. He’s now started six of the Pirates’ last eight games at first base, and while he doesn’t have much pedigree, he does rank in the 80th percentile in both bat speed and sprint speed. That makes him worth a look in the deepest of leagues.

In Gorski’s MLB debut, he was able to hit a homer in the second inning off Tyler Anderson. The 27-year-old has shown pop in the minor leagues, but his fun story doesn’t make him a fantasy-relevant player for 2025.

He’ll take the place of Jack Suwinski on the Pirates’ active roster after Suwinski was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday. It’s the first trip to the big leagues for the versatile 27-year-old. Gorski was off to a terrific start at the Triple-A level, slashing .300/.325/.529 with three homers, 14 RBI, two swipes and an 18/4 K/BB ratio in 77 plate appearances.

No surprises here as Pittsburgh pares down its spring roster to just 42 players. The decision to jettison Delay leaves some combination of Joey Bart, Henry Davis and Endy Rodríguez as the likely season-opening catching mix behind the plate.

Gorski, a 2019 second-round pick, has yet to play in the majors after spending most of the last three years in the upper minors for Pittsburgh. He had .257/.319/.522 with 23 homers and 15 steals in 113 Triple-A games last season, which pretty well sums him up, in truth; the power is major league quality, but he’d likely be a sub-.300 OBP guy without the defense to make up for it.

The headliner here is obviously Skenes, the top-overall selection from the 2023 MLB Draft. The 21-year-old hurler fired three scoreless innings in Grapefruit League action, posting a 1.00 WHIP and 3/0 K/BB ratio. No matter how well he pitched in the spring though, it was always extremely unlikely that he would crack the team’s Opening Day rotation. Skenes making his big league debut in 2024 however, is much less of a long shot — it’s a question of when, not if. He should be rostered in deeper mixed leagues as a speculative stash candidate heading into the season.