Dauri Moreta, a relief pitcher, has been placed on the 60-day disabled list by the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team said on Saturday.
After going on the injured list, Moreta made room on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster, allowing the team to formally sign veteran outfielder Michael A. Taylor of the Washington Nationals. Along with their plethora of roster changes, the Pirates formally announced that they had signed Domingo Germán, a former pitcher for the New York Yankees, to a minor league contract.
Ben Cherington, general manager of the Pirates, first discussed Moreta’s elbow injury on March 5. Cherington stated at the time that he anticipated Moreta would be absent for “a while.”
Cherington had good reason to be concerned a few weeks ago, even if there has been no formal announcement on Moreta’s diagnosis or any possible surgery. It looks like the right-hander, 27, will miss at least the next two months.
In 2015, Moreta signed with the Cincinnati Reds as an international free agent, marking his professional debut at the age of 18. Moreta made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2021 after rising through the organization’s farm system, and in 2022 he was awarded a largely stable big league job.
However, in December 2022, the Dominican righty had a fresh start in a new organization when he was moved by the Reds to the Pirates in exchange for shortstop Kevin Newman.
Moreta became a mainstay in Pittsburgh’s bullpen in 2023, ranking second among the team’s relievers with 58.0 innings pitched. He went 5-2 with a 3.72 ERA, 1.086 WHIP, 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.7 WAR across 55 games, slotting in nicely behind All-Star closer David Bednar.
Fortunately for the Pirates, earlier in the offseason Cherington added Josh Fleming, Brent Honeywell, and Aroldis Chapman. The mainstays of the bullpen from the previous season, including Colin Holderman, Ryan Borucki, and Carmen Mlodzinski, are back as well, providing Pittsburgh with respectable depth even in the absence of Moreta.
Still, the Pirates pitching staff would suffer a big loss if Moreta sustained a long-term injury, especially considering that promising rookie starting pitcher Johan Oviedo had Tommy John surgery in the fall.
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