The Pirates have signed right-hander Beau Burrows to a minor league deal, according to the transactions tracker on Burrows’s MLB.com profile page. Burrows had already spent the 2025 season in the organization on a minor league deal.
Burrows, 29, last pitched in the majors back in 2021. A first-round pick by the Tigers in the 2015 draft, Burrows was a one-time top 100 prospect in the sport who made his big league debut during the shortened 2020 season. The right-hander has just 11 MLB appearances on his resume between the 2020 and ’21 seasons. He posted an 8.64 ERA in six appearances for the Tigers at the big league level before being plucked off waivers from the Twins in 2021 and turning in a 12.54 ERA across 9 1/3 frames for Minnesota. Burrows has identical 12.5% strikeout and walk rates for his career and has allowed eight home runs in 17 2/3 career innings of work.
It’s an ugly big league resume, brief as it may be. Burrows hasn’t appeared in the majors since, but spent the next few years shuffling between various minor league systems. He pitched for the Dodgers’, Braves’, and Phillies’ Triple-A affiliates between 2022 and ’24 before he found himself released by the Phillies in June of 2024. He caught on in the independent American Association for the remainder of the 2024 campaign but struggled even at that level, leaving him with an uncertain path as 2025 began. Burrows managed to find an opportunity in the Mexcian League and signed on with the Tecos de los Dos Laredos for the 2025 campaign.
Burrows didn’t perform especially well in the Mexican League, but scouts at the time suggested that his velocity and quality curveball caught the attention of MLB clubs. That was enough to get Burrows a path back into affiliated ball, and he signed a minor league deal with the Pirates back in May. He pitched to a 2.94 ERA in 49 innings of work across four levels of the minors for Pittsburgh. While he struggled in his 16 appearances at Triple-A late in the season, he was utterly dominant at Double-A with a 0.44 ERA and a 28.4% strikeout rate. Now, Burrows is set to rejoin the Pirates and continue the development work he spent 2025 in the organization working on.
Burrows’s first task in 2026 will surely be to finally conquer the Triple-A level, where he’s posted a career 6.10 ERA. If the 29-year-old can show some mastery over the highest level of the minors this year, it wouldn’t be a shock if the Pirates found a way to get him back into the big leagues for the first time in half a decade given how good he looked throughout the lower levels of the minors this year, as well as the tantalizing ability scouts felt Burrows flashed during his time in the Mexican League earlier this year. Joe La Sorsa, Noah Murdock, and Michael Darrell-Hicks are among the other non-roster relief arms the Pirates have in the organization at Triple-A headed into next year.
Chasing that generational wealth.
I’ll always remember him for barfing on the mound after pitching lousey
You can certainly argue that his career thus far has been the equivalent of vomiting on the mound.
Sounds like last year was intriguing though.
You’re *lousy, LFGMets (Metsin7) #BannedAgain&Again&Again(SoonAgain)FireStearns
And the Pirates continue to add pitchers, their one area of strength and depth.
But we’re in on Schwarber, right? Right?
You can never have too much pitching. Injuries are frequent and come quickly. Each pitcher is a TJ away from another pitcher to take their spot for a year or two.
Yep, no doubt about it, you’re right, of course. Just wish they’d prioritize their hitting. It’s early. Maybe they will
You aren’t the only one watching closely on these intakes of available position players. Reports are coming out they are willing to bump the payroll 100 million or so next season. Rather that happens or not, is to be seen. I really don’t expect a whole lot from this organization and hopeful they blow me away by signing a guy like Kyle Schwarber or better. Likelihood of that happening, is very small margin. A fan can only hope they break away from their every year shenanigans of adding a bat or two to boost the lineup. We all know how that ends.
Side note, I intrigued with guys like Tramarr Johnson, Konnor Griffin, and even Rafel Flores that could debut next season. As intriguing as these guys are, I am not comfortable putting the season on their shoulders. Pirates need to add 2 proven bats that can improve this club. I prefer one OF (maybe bring Pham back if Schwarber doesn’t sign) and a 3B/1B guy similar to Coby Mayo statue in Baltimore. Horwitz is serviceable 1B and may lack power, but he can hit. So having a guy similar to Mayo to backup 1B and play 3B on the near regular bases, would strengthen the lineup without putting pressure on Triolo and others.
Hopefully Mayo could improve on his 201 lifetime batting average and 634 OPS.
Yes, but he’d fit right in here
You have to be pandering…REsigning…or SIGNING MiLB pitchers and somehow twisting it to taking time away from doing something big can’t be anything but a joke and poke to the tired fanbase. And if there’s ONE area even absolute haters of the current regime canNOT be mad about currently, it’s the pitching depth and the quality of what others outside the organization say about those arms.
Pandering? Really? How about “opining?” Is that a better word for you? I’m opining about the last couple of seasons with incredibly anemic hitting. I’m hopeful that the priority is rectifying that because they do have pitching and from all accounts, a great amount of depth throughout each level of the farm.
It’s great that the Pirates are lauded for their pitching depth and quality. Wonderful. I’m thrilled. What do those same voices say about the big league team’s strikeout rate or team batting average from last season? Or myriad other pathetic offensive stats? How about the franchise’s inability to produce even one impact position player during the current GM’s time here? Or that other than Griffin, the rest of the farm system is replete with “iffy” types of position players at AAA?
It’s not that I don’t think an organization can look in multiple directions for players all at once, it’s just that this particular team has demonstrated incredible ineptitude over these past six years
Call it pandering or “haters of the current regime” but it’s a reality all Pirates fans know all too well
This current team was either at the bottom of the league in all offensive categories or near the bottom in 2025.
They don’t need pitching depth, especially with a pitcher who’s era is in double digits every year
They need offense, period!
It’s a minor league deal. No reason to get snarky about it when they have to supply the minor league teams with players too.
There’s plenty of time to get snarky about real problems, just be patient
First, I was “pandering” and in response to that, I am being “snarky”. Must be that a few folks here had some real unforgettable holiday dinners which are giving them some means of catharsis on a message board.
Yeah ok, angus. Whatever you say
Next stop Asia
A+
It’s only Thanksgiving but for Pirates fans Christmas came early. Excellent work Ben
The sarcasm runs deep with you, my friend. I want to be here when you term a signing or addition as a C+
I don’t really do the + thing other than with A’s. Have given lots of regular boring C’s though.
At least you have a sense of humor, Dream. Much appreciated these days. Sheesh. And please know I’m not “pandering” to you or being “snarky”. Nor do I “want to fight” because humor apparently began in the new millennium
I remember hearing good things about him in his early daze with The Tigers…..just another example where ‘potential’ just DOESN’T always translate to success in the Majors.
Keeping him as a decoy for Mike.
Well cherrington surely gave pirates fan something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving day. Another turkey signing
“Brief as it may be” is NOT proper English. You can’t just leave “as” out to start the clause because you feel like it. Proper grammar isn’t optional.