Pirates' Bullpen Struggles: Search for Middle Relief

0:00It's April 21st. This is MLB News today. AI powered stories from around the league. I'm Cory with the story. Pirates got a strong pitching staff overall, but their bullpen's middle relieve has been the weak link this season. High leverage arms are locking it down late, yet they lack a reliable guy to chew innings in the middle without blowing leads. Guys like Isaac Matzen with a 1.32 ERA. Gregory Soto at 0.77 and Dennis Santana holding a 0.82 have. In lights out in the 8th and 9th, Johan Ramirez stepped up to, with a 2.30 mark, while only Justin Lawrence has struggled at 7.20. Tried converting starters Hunter Barco and Jose Erkwoodie to relief, but they posted 6.43 and 8.53 ERAs before heading. Back to Triple A. Cam Sanders got called up against Tampa Bay, gave a 4 runs quick on April 18th, so he went down too. Ricky Wilber-Dotell took a spot, made his big league debut in the 6.3 win on April 19th.

1:02He's got saw the velocity and pitch mix from starter days, and they could tap Brandon Bidwa with his hitless streak last year, or Antoine Kelly next. GM Ben Charrington says trays are tough this early, with no big names left. Free agency is thin, so they're riding internal options while keeping lines. Open for a fix.