Last (Home)Stand; More Moves, Awards & Tidbits

Sorry that the player moves are jumbled together; who knew they had a bottomless IL list and so many guys left to audition...? But that's what happens when FOs have to game the September roster from the former 40-man limit to just 28 guys...

Notes:

• After a sizzling week at Indy, SS Oneil Cruz was brought up for the Pirates last two games. He's the 64rd player to make the lineup for Pittsburgh this year. The MLB record, btw, is 67. It was a good opening bow; he had two hits, drove in a run, scored, and recorded the Pirates' hardest hit baseball of the Statcast era (2015>) at 118.2 MPH; we'll forget that he K'ed twice with the bases loaded. He also helped draw 22,000+ fans (well, fireworks helped, too), a top-five crowd for PNC Park this year. Then he smacked his first big league bomb the next day.

Oneil Cruz - 2021 Bowmans First

• RHP Tanner Anderson, 28, was brought up (he tossed a bit for Pittsburgh in 2018 and the A's in 2019) after Contreras was optioned back to Indy after his start. Dillon Peters (low back strain) was sent to the to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man spot. Anderson took the hill on Thursday before he was put on the 10-day IL on Saturday with a bruised foot to clear a spot for Cruz. 
• The Bucs recalled RHP Shea Spitzbarth, who was Indy's Pitcher of the Year, for the fourth time this year and optioned RHP Miguel Yajure after his start.
• The Pirates called up RHP Roansy Contreras, 21, who had a busy few days - first he was promoted from Altoona to Indy at the end of the AA season, and a start later, ended up on the big league roster. Roansy was the youngest Pirate starter since Sean Burnett in 2004. He also became the 62nd player & 37th pitcher of the year when he started Wednesday, both franchise record extenders. But his gain came at a cost; Ke'Bryan Hayes was placed on the 10-day IL with left wrist soreness to clear space for Roansy. His hand/wrist issue was  finally identified; he has a cyst. Hayes is hopeful surgery won't be needed to treat it, but the Pirates decided to shut him down him while getting a look at some of the other guys vying for a 2022 roster spot.
• Pittsburgh reinstated C Jake Stallings from the seven-day concussion list and IF/OF Michael Chavis from the 10-day IL on Tuesday. They optioned C/IF Taylor Davis back to Indy and placed RHP Connor Overton on the 10-day IL with a right shoulder strain as counter moves. It was also announced that RHP JT Brubaker wouldn't toss again this year; there was some thought of him getting a start in the final series, but why...?

Bryan Reynolds - 2021 image Pgh Pirates

• No surprise: Bryan Reynolds was named the Roberto Clemente Award (team MVP) winner by the Pittsburgh chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, with Jake Stallings second. Other winners: the Steve Blass Award (best pitcher) went to David Bednar, with Chris Stratton second. The Chuck Tanner Award (media good guy) selection was Jake Stallings. Ke’Bryan Hayes & Stratton were the runner-ups.
• The Pirates lost their 100th game with three contests to go, and there was no doubt about it - the Cubs thumped them, 9-0. It was the ninth 100> loss season the Bucs have suffered, with the last coming in 2010. 
• Pittsburgh ended the year swept in 16 different series. They were the only MLB team not to post a sweep this season, although they had 16 sets that they just needed to win the final game to finish a brooming. In fact, three straight wins was the most they put together in 2021; they did it four times, the last in July.
• Per Ben Cherington, the players in the mix to play in the Arizona Fall League are 2B Nick Gonzales, 2B Ji-hwan Bae, OF Canaan Smith-Njigba, and P's Carmen Mlodzinski, Michael Burrows, Roansy Contreras & Miguel Yajure.
• The Greensboro Hoppers took it to the limit, but dropped the championship match of the Hi-A East League by a 6-3 score to the Bowling Green Hot Rods, losing the series three-games-to-two.
• Two Bucco babes made MLB Pipelines All-Prospect Team (albeit the second squad), 2B Nick Gonzales and OF Matt Fraizer.

Nick Gonzales - 2021 Topps Future Watch

• C Christian Bethancourt, 30, was selected as Indy's MVP.  He has a .278 batting average, a team-high 58 RBI and 13 homers. He joined the team in May.
• Pitching dominoes: Indy called up Greensboro Hopper righties Carmen Mlodzinski, Bear Bellomy, Austin Roberts and Grant Ford for its final four games after the big club raided them to take Contreras, Yajure, Anderson and Spitzbarth.
• After missing three weeks due to a partially torn ankle tendon, Jameson Taillon lasted just 38 pitches in his return to the hill for the Yankees. It was a minor setback, tho - he was back out for his next turn.
• Remember RHP Casey Sadler, who last tossed for the Bucs in 2018? In the past three seasons, pitching for four clubs, he's made 89 appearances as a long man and posted a line of 5-3-1/2.18, with 26 straight scoreless outings this year for the Seattle Mariners.