The Pirates announced a roster move before Sunday's series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals, recalling right-handed pitcher Casey Sadler and optioning right-hander Alex McRae to Triple-A Indianapolis.
A move was expected after McRae threw 3 1/3 innings in long relief last night, allowing three runs and taking the loss in an 8-4 defeat. With McRae unavailable for Sunday after that outing, the Pirates needed an arm capable of pitching in a long relief situation in the last home game before taking off for a 10-game road trip.
Sadler's call-up is the latest move in an effort to find a consistent long relief arm, a role that was vacated with the trade of Tyler Glasnow to the Tampa Bay Rays in the deal to acquire Chris Archer. Before Sunday's roster move was announced, Clint Hurdle spoke about the need to fill that role and his desire to do so without upsetting the roles his other relievers have carved out with some success.
"We're still looking for somebody who can pitch multiple innings, and somebody that's dependable and durable," Hurdle said. "The thing I want to be aware of is, we've had a very good run with our bullpen. And if you think, now you get (Edgar) Santana throwing multiple innings and (Richard) Rodríguez throwing multiple innings, how that works out, I don't know. I don't have a crystal ball.
"We're getting deeper into the season, and games are getting more meaningful. We're going to have some opportunities for a guy like Santana, like we did the other night, to finish an inning and maybe go another one. I don't want to do that all the time, and I don't want to turn Santana into that guy. I don't want to turn Rodríguez into that guy, unless we're forced into a situation to use them in that venue."
Sadler, who was called up for the first time this season last month but did not appear in a game, has a 6-5 record and 3.43 ERA in 76 innings with Indianapolis. He has made 24 appearances, eight of them starts, making him well-suited for the long relief role.
If Sadler does appear for the Pirates, it will be his first MLB outing since 2015, when he won an April 12 start over the Milwaukee Brewers, allowing two runs over five innings. He underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the 2016 season and has worked his way back to the majors from starting his 2017 season with High-A Bradenton.
