Notes: 3-4 Week; Players Keep Shufflin'; Injuries, Rehabs, Assignments & Honors; MLB News

Dog days...

Notes:

• The Bucs hosted Atlanta to start the week. Great start: they chased Spencer Strider with a six-run third and hung on to take a 7-6 opening dub. The Pirates banged out four dongs the next night, but Mitch Keller had another bad day and David Bednar blew a one-run lead in the ninth (with two outs, yet) in an 8-6 loss. Quinn Priester got beat up in the third game, but the Bucs carried the fight to the end, losing 6-5 with the tying run on third. Pittsburgh earned a split, taking the finale, 7-5, after falling behind, 4-0, by riding the bat of Ke'Bryan Hayes and arm of Thomas Hatch. The Reds were next up. The starting pitching remained bad and the bats were quiet as they dropped the first match, 9-2. The next game (Homestead Grays throwback night) was rained out and made up the next day as a day-night doubleheader (RHP Cody Bolton was the 27th man). With Kells & Company lookin' sharp and Jared Triolo's 3-run pinch-hit dong, Pittsburgh took the opener, 4-2. They donned the Grays jerseys again for the nightcap. It didn't help; they lost 6-5 in 10 innings with Henry Davis still trying to figure out that RF thing.

Colin Selby - 2023 photo/Pirates

• The Pirates called up righties Colin Selby and Thomas Hatch on Tuesday. Both are hi-K, hi-walk bullpen guys. Selby will be making his MLB debut (0-0-6/3.86; Indy) while Hatch (3-3/5.40 in 27 outings/three seasons) has gotten a taste with the Blue Jays. To make room, the Pirates optioned RHPs Osvaldo Bido (2-2/5.35) and Yerry De Los Santos (1-1/3.33) to Indy. Bido was back on Saturday to take the spot of RHP Carmen Mlodzinski, who went on the 15-day IL with elbow soreness, which was described by the club as relatively minor.
• SS Oneil Cruz began his running rehab this week, which is the last step before returning to full baseball activities and then a rehab assignment.
•  RHP Roansy Contreras, who pitched in the FCL once during his rebuild, was moved up to Indy. His first outing was solid: three innings, one hit, two strikeouts and two walks.
• RHP Max Kranick, who had TJ surgery in June 2022, began his rehab assignment with Lo-A Bradenton.
• MLB Pipeline's update Top 100 include Bucco pitchers Paul Skenes (#3), Jared Jones (#75), Anthony Solometo (#90) and Quinn Priester (#99) along with 2B Temarr Johnson (#23) & C Endy Rodriguez (#42). Priester and Rodriguez are both on the big team now, so their prospect shelf life doesn't have long to run.
• OF Michael Andujar was named the International League Player of the Month. He hit .380 with six long balls and 26 RBI; he was also June's IL-POTM.
• Greensboro's RHP Bubba Chandler was named the Sally League Pitcher of the Week after tossing a seven-inning, four-hit shutout with six K last week. He's 7-3/5.08 in 20 starts with 101 whiffs in 85 IP. Bubba was taken in the third round of the 2021 draft as a prep SS/P and was converted full-time to the slab this season.

Paul Skenes - 2023 image/Baseball America 

• Top draft pick RHP Paul Skenes was assigned to the Florida Complex (Rookie) League to get some game work after a look-over at the Pirates training complex. He tossed his first pro inning there on Thursday, with eight of his 11 pitches going for strikes and seven servings hitting 100+ MPH. He tossed a 1-2-3 frame with one strikeout and a broken bat to his credit. Now it's on to Lo-A Bradenton, where he toes the slab on Tuesday. 
• The Pirates signed IF Joe Perez from the Houston system and assigned him to Altoona; he's an interesting pick up per MLB Trade Rumors Darragh McDonald.
• LHP Kent Emmanuel, 31, signed as an FA in the winter, was released after slashing 7-5/6.19 at Indy. The long man/starter had a brief MLB taste with the Astros for 10 outings in 2021.
• The Colorado Rockies have called up IF Cole Tucker from AAA. The Bucs 2014 numero uno pick, Tuck was waived in June of last year. 
• IF Robbie Glendinning, who the Pirates drafted in 2017 and released in 2019, has since played in his native Australia and is working on his third organization this year, going from Baltimore to KC to Philly.
• Jose Bautista signed a one-day contract with Toronto and then officially retired on Friday from the franchise that turned the former Bucco into Joey Bats.