The Pirates added Davis Wendzel to their roster on June 7, selecting the infielder’s contract from Triple-A Indianapolis and opening a spot by optioning Jhostynxon Garcia. To make the move fit on the 40-man roster, Pittsburgh also transferred reliever Chris Devenski to the 60-day injured list.
The transaction matters because it gives the club another backup option in the middle of a season when the infield has already been stretched thin. Wendzel, who signed a minor league deal with Pittsburgh in December and came to camp as a non-roster invite, had spent the year forcing the issue at Indianapolis. In 211 plate appearances, he hit.246/.360/.491 with nine home runs and a 123 wRC+, production that made him one of the more productive bats in the system.
Pittsburgh is not asking him to carry a lineup. It is asking him to cover ground. Wendzel usually plays third base or shortstop, two spots that have become more important with Konnor Griffin injured and Jared Triolo handling shortstop despite a 57 wRC+ this season and a career mark of minus-6 Defensive Runs Saved in 588 2/3 innings at the position. Nick Gonzales has handled third base well enough, with a 115 wRC+ in 238 plate appearances, but the club wanted one more infielder it could move around if needed.
That is the part that makes the promotion notable. Wendzel has 27 major league games on his record, all with Texas in 2024, and he managed only six hits in 49 plate appearances there. He is being brought up now anyway, before he has proven he can do the job at this level, because Pittsburgh’s roster has reached the point where upside matters less than simply having another capable glove nearby.
Garcia was the roster casualty after getting into 13 games since his May 19 recall. The 23-year-old, ranked No. 4 in the Pirates’ Top-30 by MLB.com, hit.200/.243/.229 in 37 plate appearances and produced a 32 wRC+ in the majors this season. His path back was already complicated by a back injury in mid-April that cost him about a month, and the move sends him back to Triple-A just as Wendzel takes his place.
Devenski’s transfer adds the other layer to the shuffle. He went on the 15-day injured list on May 7 after serving a two-game suspension for intentionally throwing at Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart, and the injury has not been disclosed. The backdating of his move to the 60-day list makes him eligible to return for the July 7-9 home series against the Braves if he is ready. For now, Pittsburgh’s immediate answer is clear: a new infielder up, an outfielder down, and a roster built around what it can patch together today.
