The Pittsburgh Pirates have ended the rehab assignment of relief pitcher Colin Holderman and optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis. The Pirates announced the news on their Transactions page. Holderman had been on the injured list since May 20 with inflammation of his right thumb. It was the right-hander’s second trip to the IL in 2025. Earlier, it was a sprained right knee that sent him to the IL. One wonders if this latest news effectively ends Holderman’s career with the major league club.
Pirates Activate Colin Holderman from IL, Option Him to Triple-A
Holderman struggled this season, giving up 15 earned runs on 20 hits and 11 walks in 15 innings. He also hit two batters and uncorked three wild pitches. Somehow, he managed to be credited with two holds, but he also blew two saves and was hung with one loss. It was believed that the injuries may have played a role in his poor performance this season. After all, he went through a similar rough stretch in 2024, when he gave up nine earned runs in 4 1/3 innings from July 28 through August 7. Finally, he was placed on the IL with a right wrist sprain. He bounced back in September, giving up two earned runs in 9 1/3 innings while recording six holds.
The Pirates ended the rehab assignment for Colin Holderman today and optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis.
— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) July 7, 2025
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Unfortunately, a similar bounce-back doesn’t appear to be in the cards for Holderman. His rehab assignment began on June 26 with Single-A Bradenton. He gave up a home run in his only inning there. Things got progressively worse when his rehab assignment was transferred to Indianapolis on July 1. There, he gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks in 2 1/3 innings.
Bullpen Still Solid Without Holderman
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington has been a lightning rod for criticism, much of it deserved. Nonetheless, he deserves credit here for making the right move, rather than stubbornly trying to justify the 2022 trade that brought Holderman to Pittsburgh. Since Don Kelly became the Pirates’ manager on May 8, the Pirates’ bullpen has been a strength.
Since Kelly took over, and as of the close of Sunday’s action, the eight relief pitchers who currently comprise the Pirates’ bullpen have pitched to a 2.07 ERA and 1.013 WHIP. They’ve held opposing batters to an OPS of .675, while striking out 22.1 percent and walking 7.6 percent of batters faced. Although five of the eight relievers have minor league options remaining, it would have been a crime to option any of them out.
Holderman has been an anomaly. He sits in the 92nd percentile for velocity but just the 83rd percentile in generating whiffs. At age 29, he’s not through yet. But he has a long road ahead of him to work his way back to the majors.
Main Photo Credit: © Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
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