The Pittsburgh Pirates have brought José Urquidy back into the organization, signing the 31-year-old right-hander to a minor league contract and assigning him to Triple-A Indianapolis, via the MLB transaction wire.
The deal, logged in the days after the regular season, returns a familiar arm to a club that already spent part of 2026 trying to see whether he still had major league value.
Urquidy arrived in Pittsburgh last winter on a one-year, $1.5 million contract, a modest guarantee for a pitcher once considered a rotation piece in Houston. The big league results never matched that history.
He made five appearances for the Pirates, posting an 8.53 ERA across 6 1/3 innings, and was optioned to Indianapolis in mid-April. There the picture improved.
Over 17 Triple-A starts, he went 5-4 with an ERA in the mid-3.00s, striking out 73 and walking 18 in more than 83 innings.
Pittsburgh still designated him for assignment in late July and traded him to the Chicago White Sox, choosing roster flexibility over another chance to work him into the staff.
The rest of the season was a tour of emergency depth roles. With the White Sox he logged a 4.37 ERA in 22 2/3 innings over six appearances, mixing ordinary outings with a strong six-inning relief turn against the Cubs.
Philadelphia claimed him off waivers in September to cover for an injury, and he was useful in a short sample: 3.68 ERA, a 9-to-0 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and 7 1/3 innings in two games. He was not postseason-eligible.
When the Phillies needed a roster spot for their Wild Card series, they designated him for assignment. He cleared waivers, declined an outright assignment, and elected free agency on October 1. Pittsburgh re-signed him almost immediately.
Across the three clubs he finished with a 4.95 ERA in 36 1/3 innings over 13 appearances. The walk rate was a strength. The strikeout rate was not.
That profile fits the pitcher he has been since elbow surgery wiped out most of 2024 and 2025, rather than the one who helped carry Houston earlier in his career.
From 2019 through 2022, Urquidy was a steady Astros starter, compiling a 3.74 ERA over 342 innings. He was part of the 2022 World Series championship team, making one appearance in that postseason and becoming the first Mexican-born player to pitch in three World Series.
The years since have been defined by regression and recovery.
A minor league deal does not restore that earlier role, but it gives the Pirates a healthy veteran who already knows the organization, posted usable Triple-A numbers this year, and can be called up if the rotation thins again. For now he is depth, not a solution.
