September Call-Ups Will Help The Pirates in This Area

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been going through multiple rounds of roster moves over the last few days, just to add some fresh arms to their bullpen. The pitching staff was heavily taxed during their recent road trip, and they have a bullpen game on Sunday.

The good news is that Pittsburgh’s reliever core is about to get a little bit of relief as MLB rosters are set to expand from 26 players to 28 players, and the Pirates will almost certainly use one of those spots to add another bullpen arm.

Even general manager Ben Cherington said over the weekend that the team as a whole will benefit from the extra pitcher.

“I do think it [expanded rosters] helps on the pitching side,” Cherington explained. “Obviously, we've been leveraging the bullpen games of late and with some success, I'd say.”

It’s not just that the Pirates need more bullpen arms because of the current state of the pitching staff, but also how the final month of the season could transpire. Cherington noted that the team might need to be careful with some of the starting arms, depending on how the next few weeks go.

“Then we also have starters who are going into September, and we might look to protect a little bit as we get through September. So, just having the extra pitcher does help do that [helps],” the Pirates exec said.

Whoever it is the Pirates add, Cherington feels comfortable that they’ll help add that long relief, but also win games.

“We've got guys that, not just guys who can come up, but guys who can pitch in bulky roles, multi-inning roles. So that's going to help us and help our starting pitching staff. And we have guys we think can help us win games.”

Clearly, the Pirates are excited to add another pitcher to the big-league roster. Now, the question is which pitcher will be called up? Pittsburgh has several options to sort through.

Out of everyone, there is one pitcher who could be a perfect option.

Kristian Curtis has been very impressive in his 22 Minor League appearances throughout the 2026 season. The 24-year-old owns a 4.26 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP at Triple-A and hasn’t given up a run in his two big-league outings.

If there’s ever a time for the Pirates to give Curtis an extended look at the big-league level, it’s this September.

Will it be Curtis, or will the Pirates opt to recall a more veteran arm such as Hunter Barco or Noah Murdock?

We’ll find out on Tuesday.