Headlines

  • Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline
  • Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim
  • Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon
  • Brandon Woodruff To Start For Brewers On Sunday
  • Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds
  • Rangers Option Josh Jung
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Pirates Select Isaac Mattson

By Darragh McDonald | May 20, 2025 at 3:45pm CDT

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

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions Colin Holderman Isaac Mattson Nick Gonzales

Tigers Designate Tomas Nido For Assignment
Main
Mariners Select Casey Lawrence, Designate Austin Shenton For Assignment
View Comments (18)
Post a Comment

18 Comments

  1. amjr

    2 months ago

    And no Bubba Chandler yet. So Pirates-like. SMH.

    Reply
  2. 21Clemente21

    2 months ago

    Wait til next year, I mean 2040 when we have a new owner

    Reply
  3. pillow surrealistic

    2 months ago

    Thumb inflammation…sure.
    Why don’t you just DFA the guy.

    Reply
  4. Dice 66

    2 months ago

    He’s not going anywhere!? Keller, Reynolds maybe.

    Reply
  5. mlb1225

    1 month ago

    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.

    Reply
  6. TheMan 3

    1 month ago

    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

    1
    Reply
  7. Steinbrenner2728

    1 month ago

    “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.

    3
    Reply
    • Mendoza Line 215

      1 month ago

      Thanks for the update George.
      Some people just like to play games.

      1
      Reply
      • TheMan 3

        1 month ago

        The Trib is reporting that Carmen has been optioned to Indy and Burrows is being promoted and will start against the Brewers on Thursday

        Reply
  8. Mendoza Line 215

    1 month ago

    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.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

    Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

    Brandon Woodruff To Start For Brewers On Sunday

    Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

    Rangers Option Josh Jung

    Kevin Pillar Announces Retirement

    Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On IL With Elbow Fracture

    Braves Designate Alex Verdugo For Assignment

    Giants Exercise 2026 Option On Manager Bob Melvin

    Yordan Alvarez Shut Down Due To Setback With Hand Injury

    Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib

    Tucker Barnhart To Retire

    Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline

    Reds Release Jeimer Candelario

    Dave Parker Passes Away

    Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles

    Pirates Reportedly Have Very Few Untouchable Players At Trade Deadline

    Griffin Canning Believed To Have Suffered Achilles Injury

    Mariners Looking For Corner Infield Bats; Ownership Willing To Bump Payroll

    Recent

    Royals Select Luke Maile

    Astros Re-Sign Tayler Scott To Minor League Deal

    Mets Re-Sign Colin Poche To Minor League Deal

    Astros Designate Jordan Weems For Assignment

    Athletics Reinstate Zack Gelof, Release T.J. McFarland

    Rangers To Sign Rowdy Tellez To Minor League Deal

    Freddy Galvis Announces Retirement

    Rockies Reinstate Ryan Feltner From 60-Day IL, Outright Sam Hilliard

    Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

    Rangers Designate Billy McKinney For Assignment

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version