The Pirates announced today that they have selected the contract of right-hander Isaac Mattson. He’ll take the active roster spot of fellow righty Colin Holderman, who lands on the 15-day injured list due to right thumb inflammation. To open a 40-man spot for Mattson, infielder Nick Gonzales was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette relayed the Mattson and Holderman moves prior to the official announcement (link one, two and three).
It’s been an unfortunate season for Holderman so far, who already spent time on the IL due to a right knee sprain in April. He has allowed 15 earned runs in 15 innings, giving him a flat 9.00 earned run average. He has 11 strikeouts and walks apiece, giving him a 14.9% clip in both of those categories, both of those being worse than average.
Perhaps the injuries provide an explanation for his struggles, as he was far better in previous seasons. Over the 2023 and 2024 campaigns, he had a 3.52 ERA in 107 1/3 innings, pairing a 24.6% strikeout rate with a 9.7% walk rate.
Ideally, a bit of a rest period will get him healthy and back on track. It’s turning into a lost season for the Bucs, as their 15-33 record has them near the National League basement, with only the Rockies beneath them. Holderman is under club control through 2028, so it would make sense to prioritize his long-term health as opposed to benefitting the team in the short term.
Taking his place is Mattson, who is having a strong 2025 so far. The 29-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Bucs in December and has been with Triple-A Indianapolis all year so far. He has logged 18 innings for that club with a 2.50 ERA, 30.6% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate.
Those are encouraging numbers, though in a small sample. From 2021 to 2024, Mattson tossed 156 1/3 innings on the farm with a 3.91 ERA and 28.2% strikeout rate but a 13.7% walk rate. So far this year, he has basically cut that walk rate in half. If he can keep that up, perhaps he’ll get some runway to add to his major league track record, which currently consists of a 5.59 ERA in 9 2/3 innings. However, he does have options, so it’s possible the Bucs shuttle him back to Indianapolis when they need a fresh arm.
As for Gonzales, he landed on the 10-day injured list on March 28th due to a non-displaced fracture in his left ankle. His 60-day count is retroactive to that initial IL placement, so he’ll be eligible to be reinstated about a week from today. He started a rehab assignment on Saturday but it seems the Bucs will let him get a few more minor league contests under his belt, which is understandable since he’s been out of action for close to two months.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
And no Bubba Chandler yet. So Pirates-like. SMH.
Wait til next year, I mean 2040 when we have a new owner
Thumb inflammation…sure.
Why don’t you just DFA the guy.
I’ll always look forward to seeing Mattson getting the call, regardless of the situation the Pirates are in. I got to wtach him in Indy ball a few years ago, an always root for guys who climb their way up from that level to the Major Leagues. Hope he does well.
the same thing was said about Solak regarding how well he hit at Indy and since his promotion he hasn’t shown why he deserves a roster spot
“rachelmaddowishot” is an infamous known troll who keeps changing his name and profile to evade bans and mutes. His previous usernames are TheOpener, TrojanToss, TheFormerPlayer, Fan of the Umpires, 88 Brooklyn Dodgers,, VoiceofREASON, soulefh, and tikiagedola.
I know this because he uses the same schticks. Lately he’s been using controversial and irrelevant political references while also making the occasional “trade top 4 prospects” and the “10 teams are better than this team” thing going, hoping to start long-winding reply chains.
He used to make comments (some of you may be familiar with them) also such as: “underrated city/team you can ask anybody” and “great city, great fans, etc.” and “Gomez, Schlusser, Rome, Verducci, Stark, etc.”
Please, just mute him and report him. I don’t know how/why he keeps coming back to MLBTR to do all of this for.
Thanks for the update George.
Some people just like to play games.
The Trib is reporting that Carmen has been optioned to Indy and Burrows is being promoted and will start against the Brewers on Thursday
Big jump from AAA.
I think that mlb’s point is that Mattson is not highly rated but is getting a chance because he has worked hard to maximize his talent.
The Pirates have nothing to lose.