Pittsburgh optioned Dotel to Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday.
Dotel made five appearances with the big-league club after being activated from the injured list July 18. In 14 games in the majors this year, the 23-year-old has a 5.06 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 29:11 K:BB through 26.2 innings. Dotel is being sent to Triple-A in order to make room for Evan Sisk's (elbow) return from the injured list.
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Pirates' Wilber Dotel: Tagged with loss
Rotowire
Dotel (1-3) was tagged with the loss Tuesday against the Diamondbacks after allowing an unearned run on two hits and a walk across two innings. He didn't record a strikeout.
Dotel pitched the 11th and 12th innings, and he gave up the deciding run of the game in the 12th on an RBI single from James McCann that scored Tyler Locklear. Dotel has yet to allow an earned run in three outings and six innings since returning from the injured list July 18 after missing more than a month with a lat problem. He owns a 4.44 ERA with a 1.27 WHIP across 24.1 innings and 12 outings with the Pirates in 2026.
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Pirates' Wilber Dotel: Activated, named 27th man
Rotowire
The Pirates reinstated Dotel (lat) from the injured list Saturday and appointed him as their 27th man for the team's doubleheader against the Guardians.
Dotel landed on the injured list June 13 with a right lat strain. Since then, he's made three rehab appearances in the minors, giving up one run on three hits and three walks while fanning seven batters in 4.2 innings. Now fully healthy, he'll help the Pirates' bullpen get through Saturday's twin bill before likely heading back to Triple-A Indianapolis.
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Pirates' Wilber Dotel: Another rehab outing awaits
Rotowire
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that Dotel (lat) will make another rehab appearance with a minor-league affiliate Tuesday, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Dotel tossed a scoreless frame for Double-A Altoona during the first appearance of his rehab assignment June 27, but he hasn't pitched since. The right-hander doesn't appear to have suffered a setback in his recovery from a lat strain, as the Pirates opted to have him throw a 20-pitch live batting practice session Friday, per MLB.com. Dotel will now head back to the minors Tuesday for what could be a final tune-up outing before he returns from the 15-day injured list.
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
Rotowire
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.
