Pirates' Thomas Harrington: Heading back to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Pirates optioned Harrington to Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday.
Called up from Triple-A on April 1 when the Pirates temporarily expanded to a six-man rotation, Harrington was lit up for six earned runs over four innings while taking a loss in his MLB debut against the Rays. He shifted back to the bullpen following that start and piggybacked Carmen Mlodzinski in Monday's win over the Cardinals, earning a four-inning save while allowing three earned runs. The Pirates still envision Harrington filling a starting role in the long term, so he'll head back to Indianapolis and will presumably re-enter the Triple-A club's rotation this weekend. He could be back with the Pirates in short order, however, as Pittsburgh will begin a stretch of 10 games in 10 days Friday and could bring Harrington aboard for a spot start during that stretch to keep ace Paul Skenes on a five-day rest schedule between starts.
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Pirates' Thomas Harrington: Earns lengthy save Monday
Rotowire
Harrington allowed three runs on four hits and one walk over four innings in Monday's 8-4 win over St. Louis. He struck out five and earned his first MLB save.
After making a four-inning start in his MLB debut last Tuesday against the Royals, Harrington shifted to the bullpen but ended up piggybacking starter Carmen Mlodzinski, who covered five innings before the rookie right-handed finished out the game. Harrington entered with a 4-1 lead and earned the save in the Pirates' four-run win, despite a shaky performance. Harrington has now given up nine earned runs and holds a 7:5 K:BB through eight innings, so he hasn't made a strong case for a more permanent spot in the Pittsburgh rotation just yet. That said, the Pirates have been committed to building in at least five days of rest between starts for Paul Skenes, so Pittsburgh could move back to a six-man rotation that includes Harrington on Friday, when the team begins a stretch of 10 games in as many days.
Pirates' Thomas Harrington: Potential to piggyback Monday
Rotowire
Harrington could piggyback Carmen Mlodzinski during Monday's game against the Cardinals, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Harrington has remained on the Pirates' active roster since his ill-fated major-league debut last Tuesday against the Rays, but the team hasn't revealed concrete plans for his usage. It would make sense for him to follow Mlodzinski on Monday, as Mlodzinski still isn't fully stretched out to start after spending most of the last two seasons as a reliever. Harrington yielded six runs over four innings last week versus the Rays.
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Pirates' Thomas Harrington: Struggles in debut
Rotowire
Harrington (0-1) allowed six runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out two in four innings in a loss to the Rays on Tuesday.
Harrington had some early command issues in allowing three hits and two walks, which led to three runs for the Rays in the opening frame. Another two runs scored off the bat of Brandon Lowe in the fourth inning before Harrington's day came to a close at 90 pitches. The nerves in his debut were certainly visible for the 24-year-old righty, and it's unclear whether his next start will come at the major-league level or back at Triple-A Indianapolis.
Pirates' Thomas Harrington: Contract selected for MLB debut
Rotowire
The Pirates selected Harrington's contract from Triple-A Indianapolis ahead of his scheduled start against the Rays on Tuesday.
The right-hander will make his MLB debut in Tampa Bay, with closer David Bednar being sent to Triple-A to free up space on the big-league roster. Harrington just missed out on being included in Pittsburgh's season-opening rotation, but he'll still end up making his first start of 2025 in the majors. The 23-year-old split most of 2024 between Double-A Altoona and Indianapolis, and he finished the year with a 2.61 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 115:19 K:BB across 117.1 innings. Harrington may need to deliver a strong debut in order to receive additional turns through the rotation.
Pirates' Thomas Harrington: Set to make MLB debut Tuesday
Rotowire
The Pirates will call up Harrington to make his major-league debut Tuesday against the Rays, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Harrington was beat out by Carmen Mlodzinski for the final spot in the Pirates' rotation, but his first start this season will wind up coming in the big leagues. The 23-year-old collected a 2.61 ERA and 115:19 K:BB over 117.1 innings across three levels in the minors last season. Harrington is known more for his command and control than his ability to miss bats, but he did show a little velocity uptick this spring. It might be just a spot start for the young righty, but if he impresses it's possible he'll be kept in the rotation over Mlodzinski.
Pirates' Thomas Harrington: To report to minors camp
Rotowire
Harrington was reassigned to minor-league spring training Monday.
It was reported earlier in the day that Harrington appeared to be on the outside of the Opening Day roster looking in, and the team made the move official Monday evening. Still, the future is bright for the 23-year-old right-hander, who will be in the mix for a mid-season promotion.
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Pirates' Thomas Harrington: Not in line for Opening Day roster
Rotowire
Harrington is not expected to be included on the Pirates' Opening Day roster and is set to begin the season at Triple-A Indianapolis, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
After Jared Jones went down with an elbow injury last week that could result in an extended absence, Harrington appeared to be the leading contender to fill his spot in the rotation. Harrington, who will make his final spring start Monday versus the Twins, has posted a 2.70 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 5:3 K:BB in 6.2 innings through his first three Grapefruit League outings, but the Pirates seemingly aren't keen on starting up his MLB service clock just yet. Instead, with Carmen Mlodzinski getting stretched out to three innings in his most recent spring outing, the Pirates could elect to use him as a bulk reliever or starter when the fifth spot in the rotation comes up.
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Pirates' Thomas Harrington: Impresses in spring start
Rotowire
Harrington allowed one earned run on one hit and one walk while striking out three across 3.2 innings in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies.
Harrington has worked mostly on the back fields in camp, pitching live batting practice and sim innings, as Monday marked only his third outing of the spring. Per Alex Stumpf of MLB.com, the Pirates have been impressed with the data they've seen from Harrington in all of his work this spring, and he sat 93 mph on his fastball while averaging over 2,600 rpm on his slider against the Phillies. While Harrington is the last of the Pirates' big-name pitching prospects to remain in big-league camp, manager Derek Shelton would only say that Harrington's status would be decided within the next week.
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Pirates' Thomas Harrington: Still in MLB camp
Rotowire
Harrington remains in big-league camp and will start Tuesday against the Phillies, Tribune-Review Sports reports.
Harrington didn't come into spring training with as much buzz as Bubba Chandler, but he's a very good pitching prospect in his own right and is the last prospect left competing for a rotation spot. Harrington could just be an insurance policy in case one of the Pirates' other starters gets injured before the start of the season, but Harrington looked sharp while striking out five batters over three innings in an intrasquad game last week, per Chris Clegg of The Dynasty Dugout.
Pirates' Thomas Harrington: Falters in Triple-A debut
Rotowire
Harrington debuted for Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday after being promoted from Double-A Altoona earlier in the day and struck out four over 5.2 innings while taking a no-decision in Indianapolis' 10-8 loss to Toledo. He gave up five earned runs on six hits and one walk.
Harrington was advanced to the Pirates' top affiliate after he turned in a 2.24 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 74:10 K:BB in 68.1 innings over 13 outings with Altoona. Though he turned in poor results in his Triple-A debut, Harrington continued his strike-throwing ways, as he found the zone on 52 of his 72 pitches on the afternoon. The 23-year-old righty will most likely finish out the 2024 season with Indianapolis, though it's not entirely out of the question for him to get the call to Pittsburgh if he impresses in his subsequent Triple-A outings.
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Player Bio
HT/WT: 6-2, 185 lbs
Birthplace: Sanford, NC
Age: 23
Experience: R
Bats/Throws: R, R
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