MLB Player News

The Pirates optioned Flores to Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.

Flores went 2-for-5 and notched his first MLB home run during his brief run with the Pirates, but he'll head back to Triple-A now that Henry Davis has returned from paternity leave. Flores could return to Pittsburgh later in the season if the big club's catcher depth is tested again, though most of his time will likely be spent in the minors.

The Pirates reinstated Davis from the paternity list Saturday, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.

Davis returns to the active roster after spending the past three days away from the team to welcome the birth of his first child. Rafael Flores was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis in a corresponding move.

Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a double, a solo home run and a second run scored in Friday's 8-3 loss to the Marlins.

After sitting out Thursday's game due to a minor hip issue, Rodriguez looked plenty healthy in his return as he took Sandy Alcantara deep in the fifth inning. The 26-year-old catcher is slashing .240/.387/.420 in 19 games since joining the big-league roster in mid-May with two homers, two steals, six RBI and nine runs, making a solid case to remain part of the picture behind the plate when Joey Bart (foot) is activated from the IL.

Hicks went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double, a two-run home run and two additional runs scored in Friday's 8-3 win over the Pirates.

The breakout slugger took Antwone Kelly deep in the eighth inning to put a cap on another productive night. Hicks is up to 50 RBI on the season, tied for sixth in the majors, and through 67 contests he's slashing .274/.355/.489 with 13 homers and 38 runs while splitting his time almost equally between catcher, first base and DH.

Rodriguez (hip) is starting behind the plate and batting seventh Friday against the Marlins.

The 26-year-old exited Wednesday's game against the Dodgers due to left hip discomfort but is ready to rejoin the lineup for Friday's series opener versus the Marlins. Since going 2-for-4 with a double and a homer June 2, Rodriguez has just one hit in 16 at-bats over his past seven contests.

Baldwin (oblique) will report to Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday to begin a rehab assignment, Barrett Sallee of 680 The Fan Atlanta reports.

The 25-year-old catcher was able to progress to taking live batting practice this week and has now been cleared for game action after recovering from the oblique strain that sent him to the injured list in mid-May. Assuming all goes well with Gwinnett, Baldwin could be back in Atlanta for the start of the team's next homestand, which begins Tuesday versus the Giants.

Crooks went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Mets.

Crooks put the Cardinals ahead 4-3 in the second inning with his 374-foot blast off Christian Scott, his first long ball this season. Since he was called up May 29, Crooks has been part of a committee behind the plate with Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages, going 4-for-22 (.182) with a .614 OPS across seven games. Crooks appeared in 15 games with St. Louis in 2025, slashing .133/.152/.244 with one home run.

Flores went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a double, a second RBI and a walk in Thursday's 8-6 loss to the Dodgers.

Flores got the start behind the plate as the Pirates deal with a bit of a crisis at catcher. Endy Rodriguez (hip) was banged up from Wednesday's game, while Henry Davis (paternity) and Joey Bart (foot) were both unavailable. This was just the ninth game of Flores' big-league career, and he delivered a homer in the fifth inning to get Pittsburgh on the board. His stay in the majors is likely to be short, but he could get another game or two before heading back to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Kelly went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 9-3 win over the Rockies.

A day after getting a break from the starting lineup, Kelly returned with his third home run of the season. The Chicago catcher has been a steady enough hitter with a .282 batting average and .731 OPS across 51 games, though Thursday's long ball was his first since April 18. The power has been noticeably down from 2025, when Kelly went deep 17 times in 111 regular-season contests.

Sullivan went 3-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs in a loss to the Cubs on Thursday.

Sullivan got the start behind the plate and batted out of the No. 9 slot in the order. He hit two of Colorado's three long balls (all solo shots) to post the first multi-homer game of his career. In fact, coming into Thursday, Sullivan had gone deep just three times across 206 career MLB plate appearances. Sullivan's performance against the Cubs was also his first multi-hit effort since April 29, and with one of baseball's most productive hitting catchers (Hunter Goodman) ahead of him on the depth chart, Sullivan doesn't figure to see extensive playing time moving forward.