Pittsburgh Pirates Sign Reliever Justin Bruihl, Place Quinn Priester on Injured List

Rookie starting pitcher Quinn Priester is heading to the injured list with a lat issue, but the Pittsburgh Pirates have added veteran reliever Justin Bruihl to close out their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Jun 30, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Justin Bruihl (63) on the mound during the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. / William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed left-handed relief pitcher Justin Bruihl to a major league contract, the team announced Thursday afternoon.

To make room for Bruihl on the 26-man active roster, the Pirates have placed right-handed starting pitcher Quinn Priester on the 15-day injured list with a right lat muscle injury. Pittsburgh also moved left-handed pitcher Ryan Borucki from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list to make room for Bruihl on the 40-man roster.

We have also placed RHP Quinn Priester on the 15-day Injured List (retro to June 3) and LHP Ryan Borucki has been transferred from the 15- to 60-day injured list to make room for Bruihl on the 40-man roster.

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 6, 2024

Bruihl last pitched in the big leagues in 2023, making seven appearances with the Colorado Rockies. Before that, he pitched in 65 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers between 2021 and 2023.

In his MLB career, Bruihl is 2-2 with a 4.22 ERA, 1.237 WHIP and 0.2 WAR.

The Cincinnati Reds signed Bruihl to a minor league contract in January. He had spent the first two months of the 2024 regular season with Triple-A Louisville, going 4-0 with a 2.31 ERA and 1.114 WHIP, but he was recently released after presumably opting out.

That opened the door for Bruihl to make his way to Pittsburgh, just in time to face his former team.

The Pirates and Dodgers are set to close out a three-game series at PNC Park on Thursday. The finale is scheduled to get going at 6:40 p.m. ET.

As for Priester, he last took the mound June 2 against the Toronto Blue Jays. The 23-year-old gave up eight hits and four runs in 4.2 innings that game, which Pittsburgh went on to lose 5-4.

That was Priester's first MLB start since May 14, as he had previously been optioned to Triple-A. His return turned out to be short-lived, as the righty is now slated to miss the next two weeks of action.

Priester made his MLB debut in 2023, but entered 2024 with his rookie eligibility still intact. After going 3-3 with a 7.74 ERA last year, the former first round pick was 0-3 with a 4.83 ERA this season, prior to his injury.

Pittsburgh now has four starting pitchers on the injured list: Priester, Johan Oviedo, Martín Pérez and Marco Gonzales. Rookies Jared Jones and Paul Skenes, as well as ace Mitch Keller and dark horse Bailey Falter, have led the charge for a shorthanded rotation so far in 2024.

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