Dotel (lat) will begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Altoona on Saturday, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Dotel has been on the injured list with a right lat strain since June 13. It's unclear how many rehab appearances the Pirates will have him make, but he could be cleared to rejoin Pittsburgh's bullpen before the end of the month.
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Pirates' Wilber Dotel: Completes side session
Rotowire
Dotel (lat) tossed a bullpen session Saturday, MLB.com reports.
According to general manager Ben Cherington, Dotel's fastball sat around 96 mph during the session, just a couple ticks behind his season-long average (98.2). The Pirates placed Dotel on the 15-day injured list June 13 due to a right lat strain, but he looks on track to avoid an extended absence and could be ready to rejoin the Pittsburgh bullpen by late June.
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Pirates' Wilber Dotel: Dealing with lat strain
Rotowire
The Pirates placed Dotel on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a right lat strain.
Dotel gave up four earned runs in just 1.2 innings during his appearance Friday, and his strained lat may have been a factor in his poor performance. He'll now remain out until at least June 28, and the Pirates will bring up Brandan Bidois from Triple-A Indianapolis to fill the void in their bullpen.
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Pirates' Wilber Dotel: Back with Pittsburgh
Rotowire
The Pirates recalled Dotel from Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday.
Dotel has been summoned back to Pittsburgh after previously appearing in three games with the big-league club in late April. During his first taste of the majors, the right-hander posted a 1.35 ERA over 6.2 innings out of the bullpen. The 23-year-old has maintained a 5.32 ERA and 24 strikeouts over 23.2 innings while primarily working out of the rotation at Triple-A, but he's expected to return to a relief role during his upcoming stint in the big leagues.
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Pirates' Wilber Dotel: Impressive in long relief
Rotowire
Dotel took a no-decision Monday against the Cardinals, throwing four clean innings of relief. He struck out three.
The absence of Braxton Garrett (personal) forced the Pirates into a bullpen game Monday, and Dotel filled in admirably as a bulk reliever. The right-hander flooded the zone for 32 strikes among his 44 pitches, picking up his first hold of the year in the process. Through 6.1 frames in 2026, Dotel sports a 1.35 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 4:3 K:BB.
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Pirates' Wilber Dotel: Handling bulk role Monday
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Pirates manager Don Kelly said that Dotel will be utilized as a bulk reliever behind opening pitcher Mason Montgomery in Monday's home game against the Cardinals, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Monday had been Braxton Ashcraft's (personal) turn in the rotation, but he won't be eligible to rejoin the Pirates until Tuesday after recently getting placed on the bereavement/medical emergency list. The Pirates will thus turn to Dotel to cover extended innings in Monday's series opener. Dotel has appeared in two contests since being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis on April 19, giving up one run on two hits and three walks while striking out one batter over 2.2 innings. He had previously gotten stretched out to 5.2 innings over his three starts at Triple-A Indianapolis this season prior to being promoted earlier this month.
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Pirates' Cam Sanders: Quick return to minors
Rotowire
The Pirates optioned Sanders to Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
The right-hander was called up from Triple-A on Friday and made his season debut Saturday against the Rays, but he'll head back to the minors after surrendering to four runs over two-thirds of an inning. Wilber Dotel will take Sanders' place in Pittsburgh's bullpen.
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Pirates' Wilber Dotel: Gets first call to big leagues
Rotowire
The Pirates recalled Dotel from Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
The 23-year-old has surrendered 10 earned runs with a 13:7 K:BB over 14.1 innings to begin the season with Indianapolis, but he'll get his first opportunity in the major leagues anyway. Dotel was working out of the rotation at Triple-A but will shift to the bullpen to provide some depth for the Pirates after Saturday's 13-inning loss to the Rays.
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Pirates' Wilber Dotel: Reporting to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Pirates optioned Dotel to Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday.
Dotel was one of eight players dismissed from big-league camp in the Pirates' latest round of roster cuts. The Pirates added the 23-year-old right-hander to the 40-man roster in the offseason after he turned in a 4.15 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 131:43 K:BB over 125.2 innings in 27 starts for Double-A Altoona in 2025.
