MLB Rumors: Pirates To Promote Hitter With All-Star Headed To Paternity List

The Pittsburgh Pirates are reportedly welcoming outfield reinforcements to accommodate a well-justified absence.

Bryan Reynolds, who exited Tuesday night’s 7-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers after his wife went into labor, is expected to be placed on the paternity list, according to MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf. Pittsburgh will call up Billy Cook, who will join the team in Detroit, according to Stumpf.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Noah Hiles confirmed Cook’s promotion.

This won’t be Cook’s first MLB experience, as he went 11-for-49 in 16 games with the Pirates last year. While Cook demonstrated some pop with three home runs and two doubles, he also struck out 19 times without drawing a walk.

For most of his minor-league career, power represented Cook’s calling card. He hit 24 home runs in 2023 and slugged .474 in Triple-A last season.

However, Cook has yet to go deep in 61 games this season. The 26-year-old is batting .271/.353/.335 with 10 stolen bases for Triple-A Indianapolis.

Despite the unusual power outage, Cook is swinging a hot bat. He went 22-for-48 (.458) in June before the promotion, tallying three of those hits on Tuesday night.

Cook isn’t assured any playing time during Reynolds’ paternity leave. Alexander Canario struck a two-run single when replacing Reynolds in right field on Tuesday.

The Pirates would give Cook a tough opening assignment if inserting him into Wednesday’s lineup. They’re scheduled to face Tarik Skubal, who’s vying for his second straight American League Cy Young Award with a 1.99 ERA and 0.81 WHIP this season.

Pittsburgh will try to tame Skubal and the first-place Tigers in a Wednesday matchup starting at 6:40 p.m. ET.

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