The Pirates announced that they have selected the contract of catcher Shawn Ross. Fellow catcher Rafael Flores has been placed on the seven-day concussion-related injured list. To open a 40-man spot for Ross, right-hander José Urquidy has been designated for assignment. Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette previously relayed that Ross would be added to the roster for Flores.
Flores was just recalled to the big leagues a couple of weeks ago when a left glute strain sent Endy Rodríguez to the IL. Flores has been pairing with Henry Davis as the Pittsburgh catching tandem but now he will join Rodríguez on the shelf. Per Beazley, Rodríguez is starting a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis tonight, so he should be back soon.
In the meantime, Ross will get called to the big leagues for the first time. Now 26, the Bucs signed him as a non-drafted free agent in 2022. He has since been climbing the minor league ladder with an extreme three-true-outcomes approach in the batter’s box.
This year, he has taken 193 trips to the plate between Double-A and Triple-A. He has ten home runs and a huge 17.1% walk rate but he has also been punched out in 37.3% of his plate appearances. That’s led to a lopsided .181/.325/.432 line and 97 wRC+ on the year. Baseball Prospectus ranks him as a subpar framer but decent in terms of blocking and controlling the running game. Since this is his first time being called up to the majors, he has a full slate of options. If Rodríguez or Flores can come off the IL in the near future, Ross can be easily sent back to Triple-A.
The addition of a catcher has led to Urquidy losing his roster spot. The righty signed a one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Bucs in February. He has mostly been in a rotation depth role this year. He made five relief appearances for Pittsburgh early in the campaign before he consented to an optional assignment at the Triple-A level.
He has mostly been having a good season since then. He has made 17 Triple-A starts with a 3.66 earned run average, 22% strikeout rate, 5.4% walk rate and 42.4% ground ball rate. He’s been especially good lately, with a 1.74 ERA in his past six starts.
Despite the strong results, the Pirates didn’t have a need for him. They have a rotation consisting of Paul Skenes, Braxton Ashcraft, Mitch Keller, Bubba Chandler and Jared Jones. The club has Wilber Dotel and Carmen Mlodzinski pitching in long relief roles. They have Hunter Barco, Antwone Kelly and Khristian Curtis on optional assignment in Triple-A.
That strong depth has led to Urquidy getting bumped off the roster and into DFA limbo. That can last for a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Bucs can take as long as five days to field trade interest.
It seems likely that they will get calls. Not only has Urquidy been good this year but he also has a solid track record. From 2019 to 2022, he gave the Astros 342 innings with a 3.74 ERA, 20.3% strikeout rate and 5.2% walk rate. He struggled in 2023 and then Tommy John surgery wiped out a lot of his 2024 and 2025 but, as mentioned, he has been in good form in the minors this year. Since his salary is relatively affordable and so many clubs around the league are battling injuries, it seems like the Bucs should be able to find a landing spot for him.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
