The Pittsburgh Pirates open a three-game homestand against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night at PNC Park, first pitch set for 6:45 p.m. ET.
Hours before that series began, the club made a pair of roster moves that reflected both opportunity and the hard realities of a late-season roster.
Konnor Griffin was activated from the 60-day injured list, giving the Pirates another young bat and another body in the infield mix. To create the necessary space, Pittsburgh designated veteran catcher Christian Bethancourt for assignment, via Pirates insider Alex Stumpf.
Reliever Isaac Mattson was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis, while left-hander Brandon Eisert was optioned back to the minors.
Bethancourt’s stay in Pittsburgh was brief. The Pirates acquired the 35-year-old from the New York Yankees for cash considerations on August 19 and selected his contract from Indianapolis earlier this week. He never appeared in a game for the Pirates and did not record a plate appearance. His last major-league action came in 2024.
The move ends another short chapter in a career that has stretched across more than a decade and several organizations. Bethancourt signed with the Atlanta Braves as an amateur out of Panama in 2008 and reached the majors with them in 2013.
Atlanta traded him to the San Diego Padres after the 2015 season. He remained in San Diego through 2017, then spent 2018 in the Milwaukee Brewers’ minor-league system and 2019 in South Korea.
He returned to the majors in 2022 with the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays, stayed with Tampa Bay in 2023, and split 2024 between the Miami Marlins and Chicago Cubs.
Last season, he played in the Toronto Blue Jays’ farm system. This past offseason he signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs, was released in mid-July, and landed with the Yankees. He also represented Panama in this year’s World Baseball Classic.
For a rebuilding Pirates club trying to evaluate younger players down the stretch, a veteran catcher who had not played in the majors since 2024 became expendable once Griffin was healthy.
Bethancourt now enters the 10-day window in which other teams can claim him or the Pirates can attempt to trade him before he would clear waivers and become a free agent.
The Angels series itself offers Pittsburgh a chance to measure itself against a club that has also spent much of the year outside contention.
Whether the roster shuffle produces any immediate on-field difference remains to be seen, but the decision underscores how quickly even an eight-year major-leaguer can find himself on the outside when a younger player is ready to return.
