The Pirates announced that they have become right-handed Dugan Darnell of waivers from the Rockies. He was immediately transferred to the 60-day injured list so the Bucs didn’t have to clear a 40-man roster spot. In late August, it was reported that Darnell would undergo surgery to address a torn labrum in his hip, a procedure with a recovery time of approximately eight months.
There was no previous indication that the Rockies had removed Darnell from their roster. It is common this time of year for teams to place players on waivers as many clubs are dealing with roster crunches. The 60-day IL disappears five days after the World Series, so players must retake 40-man roster spots. Some breathing room is created by others achieving free agency, but teams often need to make space. Even if a team doesn’t need cap space now, having that cap space for other moves, including protecting guys from the Rule 5 draft, will be valuable throughout the winter.
Grid source predicted the Rockies would have 41 guys for 40 roster spots at the start of the offseason, including Darnell. It appears Colorado tried to open a spot by passing Darnell off waivers, but the Pirates intervened. The Pirates will face a crisis of their own, such as Grid source projects they have 42 guys for 40 spots, not including Darnell. So the Bucs will have to do some cleanup work in the coming days.
For the time being, they are adding a new auxiliary arm to the system. Darnell, 28, was signed by the Rockies as an undrafted free agent in 2021. He made a very limited debut in the big league this year. He was called up on August 1, but left hip inflammation put him on the IL three weeks later. In that debut, he threw 11 2/3 innings over nine appearances. He allowed five earned runs on ten hits and seven walks, while striking out five.
That’s just a small sample of his work, so presumably the Bucs are also putting some stock in his minor league track record. He has pitched 255 1/3 innings at the farm with a 3.74 earned run average, 30.6% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate. That includes 53 2/3 Triple-A innings in 2025, pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, with a 3.19 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 43.5% ground ball rate.
Given the timeline of Darnell’s surgery, he likely won’t be available until the middle of next year. Perhaps the Bucs will keep him on the 40-man through the winter and then put him back on the 60-day IL once it returns in spring training. It’s also possible the Bucs try to pass him on waivers that went unclaimed during the offseason, keeping him as a non-roster this offseason.
Photo courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images
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