The Pittsburgh Pirates have selected the contract of right-hander Kyle Nicolas from Triple-A Indianapolis and have optioned fellow reliever Thomas Hatch.
To make room for Nicolas on the 40-man roster, Andrew McCutchen was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Nicolas, 24, was acquired by the Pirates in the 2021-22 offseason in the four-player swap that sent catcher Jacob Stallings to the Miami Marlins.
After spending the majority of his career as a starting pitcher, Nicolas transitioned to a relief role at the beginning of last month and has pitched well out of the bullpen.
In 17 appearances out of Indianapolis’ pen, Nicolas has gone 1-0 with a 3.67 ERA. Across 27.0 innings, he’s yielded 17 hits, walked 14 and struck out 42 while limiting opponents to a .175 batting average against. He’s posted a 2.05 ERA since Aug. 1.
Nicolas’ first appearance will mark his major league debut. He will wear No. 62 and will be active for Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Cubs.
Hatch was selected off the waivers by the Pirates from the Toronto Blue Jays and made 12 appearances (two starts) for Pittsburgh.
In total, the right-hander has gone 1-1 with a 4.03 ERA since joining the Pirates. He’s struggled of late and has a 5.54 ERA (8er/13.0ip) over his last eight appearances.
McCutchen was already going to miss the rest of the regular season with an Achilles injury, so the move to put him on the 60-day IL is a procedural one to make room for Nicolas.
In his first season back with the Pirates, McCutchen slashed .256/.378/.397 with 19 doubles, 12 home runs, 43 RBIs and 11 steals in 112 games played.
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