Weekly Report: Bucs Take 2-Of-3 From Cleve, Yanks On Deck, Dotel Back, Bucs Watch ASG

• The Pirates called up RHP Khristian Curtis for Saturday’s twin bill (as the extra doubleheader roster player, he was optioned back to Indy the next day) and RHP Wilber Dotel was activated off the IL with Oneil Cruz moved to the 60-day IL to open up a 40 man spot. Cruz’s rehab is slow but on schedule; he’s now eligible to come off the IL on August 8. As a sidebar there’s no ETA for Endy Rodriguez or Spencer Horwitz, either.
• The Pirates sold 26-year-old RHP Cam Sanders contract to Baltimore; he had been DFA’ed last week. In 15 outings between 2025-26, Cam’s Pirates line was 0-0/8.44. 
• Pittsburgh acquired OF Robert Hassell III, 24, in a minor league deal (cash or PTBNL, TBD) after being outrighted by Washington. A former first-round pick by San Diego in 2020 (8th overall) he was once considered a Top 40 Prospect. Hassell appeared in 70 games last season with the Nats, batting .223/3 HR/18 RBI in 197 AB.
• Jared Jones had his streak of 30 straight batters retired end on Saturday. The run had began on July 2. He’s the third Buc pitcher to get 30+ batters in a row – Jim Bibby retired 32 in-a-row in 1981 and the champ is Harvey Haddix who sat down 38 straight in 1959. 36 of those were part of his 12-inning perfect game slabwork against Milwaukee.

Jared Jones – 2026 Sportsnet.Pgh graphic

• Pittsburgh is just the second MLB team to ever go into the All-Star break last in runs per game one year (2025) then first in runs per game the next (2026). They join the 1986-to-87 Cards (s/o to @OptaSTATS).
• Now that you have the 2026 Pirates schedule under control, it’s time to get into the 2027 season; it’s dates have just dropped. The Bucs will host the A’s on March 25th for the first Opener at PNC Park since 2016.
• 3B Murf Gray (23 HR), who started the year at Lo-A Bradenton and advanced to Hi-A Greensboro, has been promoted to Altoona as IF Duce Gourson was bumped from the Curve up to Indy. He homered in his first AA game and was bumped into MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects.
• Indy OF Dominic Fletcher exercised his opt-out clause last week. He couldn’t find any situations better than the one he had here, so he re-signed with Pittsburgh.
• The Bucs signed six draftees on Friday from rounds 5-10: LHP Ryan Marohn, RHP Tyler Fay, RHP Bryson Moore, RHP Alex Overbay, 3B Tre Phelps & RHP Michael Gibson. They’re all college players and no financials were disclosed.

ASG Stuff:

• Paul Skenes and Braxton Ashcraft were both selected for the ASG, but since both pitched the weekend before game, they aren’t on the active roster…so no Bucco All-Stars were on the field Tuesday and were the only team not to have a player appear during the game. Kinda odd that the MLB’s best offense didn’t have anyone considered AS worthy. 
• All Star factoid: The duo was the third pair of Pirates starting pitchers to be named All-Stars in the same season; they joined Bob Friend/Vernon Law in 1960 and AJ Burnett/Gerrit Cole in 2015.
• Keeping good company: Paul Skenes is just the fourth pitcher to start his career with three straight All-Star seasons, along with Yu Darvish, Dwight Gooden and Tom Seaver.

Brax & Paul – ASG 7/13/2026 photo MLB

• The AS hoo-haw began with the Futures game. The Bucs were repped by RHP Seth Hernandez (one scorelss inning pitched, two K) and OF Edward Florentino (HBP, stole a base and scored). The AL pups whipped the NL young ‘uns 6-1.
• Next was the Home Run Derby. Oneil Cruz made it to the semi-finals last year while walloping a 513′ long ball, but a broken hand kept him out of the field this year. The Cards Jordan Walker won it, defeating hometown fave Kyle Schwarber.
• As for the ASG, Christopher Sanchez got rocked for three runs in the first and that was all she wrote as the AL took a 4-0 win over the NL at Citizen’s Bank Park. The Junior Circuit small-balled their early scores and Miguel Vargas added an eighth inning solo shot. The Pirates were the only team that didn;t have a player in the box score. Paul Skenes was selected, but worked the weekend of the game and was replaced by Braxton Ashcraft, who tossed on the day before the AS break began and was ineligible for game work. Bryan Reynolds and Brandon Lowe both were available and had All Star numbers, but were bypassed.

Game Stuff:

• The Bucs were supposed to be back in the saddle on Friday at Cleveland, but the Canadian smoke screen caused the opener to be postponed and rescheduled as a Saturday split-game twin bill. 
• Jared Jones was on the bump for the opener. JJ, Carmen Mlodzinski and Isaac Mattson shoved as the Bucs won 7-1; Jacob Gonzalez, Nick Gonzales & Esmerlyn Valdez homered. 
• Game two was a bullpen start that began an hour late due to some rain. Thanks to a five-inning, two-hit shutdown tossed by Khristian Curtis, it was 3-0 Bucs going into the eighth. Then…well, yah, same ol’ bullpen as Brandon Eisert & Gregory Sotogave up the lead. It was 3-3 going to the ninth when Dennis Santana took the bump and the loss, giving up a homer as the Guardians rallied for a 5-3 dub. Going hitless after the fourth inning and not adding on didn’t help the cause much, either.

Paul Skenes – 2026 Pirates graphic.

• Paul Skenes did his thing for seven innings, piling up eight Ks and giving an overwhelmed bullpen a breather. Billy Cook had a three-hit day and The Magician banged another homer as the Bucs took the series at Progressive Field with a 7-1 dub over the Cleves.
• Now the Pirates head east to take on the Yankees; pretty tough set of road back-to-backs to begin the second half of the fray.

• More on the Mike Burrows saga at Houston: he was optioned to AAA last week, but it was discovered that he had nerve damage in his elbow. So the ‘Stros nullified the option (a legit move for a pre-existing injury, which this apparently was) and placed Mike on the 15-day IL with no return date yet determined.
• OF Bligh Madris was released by the Cards; he’s headed for a gig in the Korean league.