Pirates recall Evan Sisk, option Hunter Barco in bullpen swap

Evan Sisk’s 1.17 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings at Triple-A Indianapolis forced Pittsburgh’s hand, and the Pirates answered by trading one left-handed bullpen arm for another before their series opener against the Washington Nationals at PNC Park.

The Pirates recalled Sisk on April 13 and optioned Hunter Barco to Indianapolis in a like-for-like move that was less about paperwork than survival. Barco had thrown 1.2 innings the day before and was not a realistic option for immediate work, so Pittsburgh turned to Sisk for the left-handed depth it needed in a bullpen that has already bounced around early this season.

Sisk, 28, will wear No. 48 and arrives with a far better recent case than his brief spring exit suggested. He was optioned to Indianapolis on March 17 during camp cuts, then put together a sharp start there, going 1-0 with a .200 opponent batting average across six appearances. The sample was small, but the results were loud: 14 strikeouts, only 7 2/3 innings allowed, and enough miss to make the promotion hard to ignore.

The Pirates have seen this version of Sisk before. He entered the recall with 19 career major league appearances and a 3.57 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 25 strikeouts in 17.2 innings from his first MLB season. Pittsburgh acquired him from Kansas City in the Bailey Falter trade on July 31, 2025, after the Royals had already gotten a look at a reliever who posted a 1.69 ERA in five big league outings and then piled up an 81-strikeout season in 58 Triple-A relief appearances for Omaha in 2024.

Barco’s demotion does not erase his status in the organization. He entered 2026 as one of Pittsburgh’s top pitching prospects and had already reached the majors in September 2025, but the developmental runway has been slowed by Tommy John surgery and a 2024 left shin stress response that ended his season early. In 2026, though, the major league version has not held the zone nearly well enough. Before the option, Barco allowed seven runs, five earned, over seven innings in four appearances, with five strikeouts and seven walks.

That is the gap Pittsburgh is trying to close today: not whether Barco still has a future, but whether the bullpen can afford his growing pains right now. Sisk’s form in Indianapolis offered a cleaner answer for the present, and the Pirates took it.