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Pirates' Wilber Dotel Making Bounceback in Injury Rehab

Jun 9, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Wilber Dotel (66) pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the seventh inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Pirates' Wilber Dotel Making Bounceback in Injury Rehab

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Pirates on SI
By Dominic Campbell | Last updated Jul 7, 2026 9:00 AM ET

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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have waited for the return of a young relief pitcher from injury, who is trending in the right direction.

Pirates right-handed pitcher Wilber Dotel hasn't pitched for the team in almost a month, going on the 15-day injured list with a right lat muscle strain on June 13, but general manager Ben Cherington gave a positive update on Dotel on The Pirates Insider Show on 93.7 The Fan on July 5.

Cherington said that Dotel reached 98 mph in his recent live batting practice and that he felt good doing so, putting him on track for another outing on a rehab assignment.

“He threw a live [BP], up to 98 [mph] during that live. It’s is a good indication that he’s, if you’re going to hit 98 [mph] in a live BP, it’s usually maybe a tick extra in a real game," Cherington said. "It’s a good indication that the velo is there, he’s feeling good. He came out of that reporting feeling really well..."

Pirates Optimistic About Dotel and Return.

Dotel pitched just one inning in his first rehab assignment outing for Double-A Altoona on June 27, which was less than the two innings he originally had planned to throw.

He ended up throwing a bullpen back on June 30 and this live BP puts him back on track for more outings to eventually make his return to the Pirates.

Cherington noted that Dotel didn't re-injure himself on that rehab assignment, but that he wasn't feeling the way he should've and that this most recent BP is where he needs to be going forward.

“When he had pitched in Altoona that time and we kind of hit pause, there wasn’t any concern about injury," Cherington said. "He just didn’t report feeling as well as we wanted him to report feeling and so we decided, ‘Alright, let’s just take a couple days and settle this thing down.’

"So we went back into a live BP. Came out of that feeling really good. Anticipate him now getting into a rehab outing, a minor league rehab outing sometime earlier this week, hopefully Tuesday.”

Dotel Looking to Get Back to Best Form After Return

The Pirates brought Dotel up early in the season on April 19 and then after sending him back to Triple-A Indianapolis on April 28, recalled him once again on May 20.

Dotel had great success in his early outings, displaying confidence on the mound for someone who just made his MLB debut and for good reason, with his four-seam fastball averaging out at 98.1 mph.

He filled the role of middle reliever and did so with great efficiency, giving up just two earned runs over his first seven outings and 16.2 innings pitched for a 1.08 ERA, plus posting 17 strikeouts to five walks.

It saw him post three straight starts of three innings and no runs allowed in his second stint and also four perfect innings in relief against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 27 in his first stint.

Dotel struggled in his last two outings before going on the injured list, with 10 earned runs over 1.2 innings, but some of that could've been due to his recent injury.

The Pirates will hope that Dotel's next rehab assignment goes well and he gets closer to making his official return from injury.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Pirates on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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