Pirates Shake Up Bullpen, Recall Barco

0:00It's April 28th. Welcome to MLB News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. Pittsburgh pirates just shook up their pitching staff to fix a worn out bull pin. They recalled lefty Hunter Barco from AAA Indianapolis and send right-hander Wilbur Dotael back down there. This comes right before their second game against the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park on April 28th. The team is grinding through 13 straight games, including a 6-game road trip and now a 7-game home stand. Their relievers got hammered the last two nights using almost everyone except Johann Ramirez. Dotael stepped up big in the opener on April 27th, throwing four perfect innings with four strikeouts. Fans get why they're managing arms carefully, but some scratch their heads over Dotael's demotion since he delivered exactly what they needed. Still, with starters like Carmen Molizinski exiting early and bull pin games forcing bulk usage, Pittsburgh needs fresh legs to avoid meltdowns. Barco, a young South Paul, got optioned down on April 13th for the same reason to build stamina.

1:06In his two AAA outings, he's shown, especially tossing five scoreless innings with five strikeouts against St. Paul on April 22nd. Now Pittsburgh has a reliable lefty, ready for multi-inning stints, giving them flexibility if injuries hit or starters falter. Smart depth move keeps the rotation humming through this marathon stretch.