The Pittsburgh Pirates made a series of roster transactions Thursday ahead of their series finale in Anaheim vs. the Los Angeles Angels, calling up outfielder/first baseman Matt Gorski and right-handed pitcher Mike Burrows from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Additionally, the Pirates optioned outfielder Jack Suwinski to Triple-A, and lefty reliever Tim Mayza was transferred from the 15-day to 60-day injured list, creating a necessary 40-man roster spot.
Righty reliever Justin Lawrence, one of the Pirates’ most steady bullpen options so far this season, is also headed to the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation.
Burrows, the Pirates’ No. 15 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline, made his big-league debut with the Pirates last Sept. 28, tossing 3 1/3 innings against the New York Yankees on the road.
That outing represented the culmination of Burrows’ efforts to recover from Tommy John surgery in 2023, which delayed his 2024 campaign until the early summer.
By year’s end, having navigated his way back to Triple-A, Burrows, 25, went 1-1 with a 4.06 ERA in nine starts and 37 2/3 innings for the Indians.
After posting a 7.20 ERA in three Grapefruit League appearances this spring, Burrows began 2025 at Indianapolis, making four starts at the time of his recall Thursday.
An 11th-round (No. 324 overall) pick by the Pirates in 2018, Burrows is 0-1 with a 4.30 ERA, 13 strikeouts and seven walks with Indianapolis to begin the season.
Per Statcast, he throws four pitches: a four-seam fastball, changeup, curveball and slider.
Gorski, a second-round (No. 57 overall) pick by the Pirates in 2019, would be in line to make his MLB debut.
The 6-foot-2 outfielder/first baseman has displayed significant power over parts of four minor-league campaigns.
Last season at Triple-A, he clubbed 23 homers with 24 doubles and 67 RBIs, batting .257 over 113 games.
His 2022 and 2023 seasons, split between High-A Greensboro, Double-A Altoona and Triple-A, saw Gorski average 22 homers and 63 RBIs.
This season, through 18 games with the Indians, Gorski is slashing .300/.325/.529 with three homers, seven doubles and 14 RBIs.
However, swings and misses have been a consistent theme of Gorski’s professional career to date as he owns a career 31% strikeout rate over 1,697 minor-league at-bats.
Defensively this season, Gorski has split time between all three outfield spots and first base.
That tracks with his deployment in 2024 when he made 31 appearances in right and left field, 41 at center and 14 at first base, as well as even further, dating to his college days at Indiana.
Suwinski, 26, managed only a .128/.244/.154 slash line with a homer, six RBIs and a 49% strikeout rate through 16 games this season.
Significant struggles at the plate are a continuation from last season for Suwinski, who was demoted to Triple-A in late May amid an ineffective offensive start to the year.
Suwinski continues to seek a return to his 2023 form, when he hit 26 home runs with 74 RBIs for the Pirates, as well as his rookie campaign of 2022, when he hit 19 home runs in 106 games.
Mayza, placed on the injured list initially April 19 because of a shoulder lat muscle strain, also suffered an additional teres major injury ailment.
As a result, the 33-year-old, who had a 2.89 ERA over seven games and 9 1/3 innings before going down, was shut down from all throwing for the next six weeks, after which time the next steps of his recovery will be determined.
At the time of his injury, Lawrence, 30, had gone 1-0 with a 0.79 ERA, 15 strikeouts and six walks in 11 games, most recently Tuesday against the Angels.