The Pittsburgh Pirates have trimmed the edges of their lowest-level international pipeline, releasing seven pitchers from the Dominican Summer League clubs, according to the official MiLB transaction log.
All seven had spent their professional careers exclusively in the DSL, never advancing beyond the complex league where teams evaluate raw international signees.
The moves involved right-handers Darlin Mejia, Albert Vega and Welin Aponte from DSL Pirates Gold, along with right-handers Leudy Reyes, Leuris Paulino and Jose Sequera and left-hander Yhosneiber Torres from DSL Pirates Black.
Most had signed in early 2025 as undrafted free agents once the organization’s international bonus pool was exhausted, limiting them to smaller bonuses. Mejia arrived later that November.
Their tenures proved short. None established enough command or consistency to merit a stateside assignment.
Performance data underscored the decision.
Mejia posted a 12.08 ERA across 12 2/3 innings in his only professional season. Vega walked more batters (49) than he struck out (39) over 40 1/3 innings across two summers, finishing with a 5.80 ERA.
Aponte similarly struggled with the strike zone, recording a 5.24 ERA with 42 walks and 41 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings. Sequera’s numbers were worse still: a 7.20 ERA and 30 walks against just 20 strikeouts in 25 innings.
Paulino’s brief look was especially rough, as he allowed 16 runs in only 7 1/3 innings.
A couple of the released arms showed modest late progress that ultimately proved insufficient.
Reyes improved from an 8.14 ERA in 2025 to a 3.00 mark across 27 innings in 2026, though his career totals still reflected control issues.
Torres, the lone left-hander, lowered his ERA to 4.08 in 2026 after a 6.53 mark the previous year and generated a respectable 74 strikeouts in 65 2/3 career innings.
Even those relative bright spots could not overcome broader command problems that defined the group.
Such releases are routine after the international signing period and the close of the DSL season. Organizations routinely clear roster spots for the next wave of teenage talent from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and elsewhere.
For the Pirates, the moves represent a standard end-of-year housekeeping step rather than a dramatic roster overhaul.
The players return to free agency with limited professional experience and the chance to catch on elsewhere, while Pittsburgh’s player-development staff turns its attention to the prospects who remain in the system and the new international class that will arrive for the 2027 DSL campaign.
