{"id":279206,"date":"2026-09-04T20:28:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T20:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/279206\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T20:28:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T20:28:17","slug":"pittsburgh-pirates-cut-8-year-mlb-player-before-angels-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/279206\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh Pirates Cut 8-Year MLB Player before Angels Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Pittsburgh\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – MAY 07: Manager Don Kelly #12 of the Pittsburgh Pirates reacts in the dugout during the first inning of the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on May 07, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a> are set to begin a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels<\/a> at PNC Park at 6:45 p.m. EDT on Friday.<\/p>\n

The Pirates made an exciting roster decision before Friday\u2019s game, activating Konnor Griffin<\/a> from the injured list. As a corresponding move, Pittsburgh designated an eight-year MLB<\/a> player for assignment.<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Pirates Cut 8-Year MLB Player Christian Bethancourt Before Angels Series<\/p>\n

\n\"2026GettySAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO \u2013 MARCH 07: Christian Bethancourt<\/a> #22 of Team Panama scores a run on a single hit by Jos\u00e9 Caballero<\/a> #77 (not pictured) against Team Puerto Rico during the tenth inning at Hiram Bithorn Stadium on March 07, 2026 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Photo by Al Bello\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n

The Pirates designated veteran catcher Christian Bethancourt for assignment, according to Book-Rule Bucs\u2019 Alex Stumpf.<\/p>\n

Via Stumpf on X<\/a>: Konnor Griffin has been activated off the 60-day IL. Christian Bethancourt has been DFA\u2019d. Isaac Mattson<\/a> has been recalled and Brandon Eisert<\/a> optioned to Triple-A.<\/p>\n

\n\"2026GettySAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO \u2013 MARCH 06: Christian Bethancourt #22 of the Team Panama prepares to take an at bat against Team Cuba during the seventh inning at Hiram Bithorn Stadium on March 06, 2026 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Photo by Al Bello\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n

The Pirates acquired Bethancourt from the New York Yankees<\/a> for cash on Aug. 19. The Pirates selected his contract from Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Bethancourt, 35, didn\u2019t have a single plate appearance with the Pirates before being designated for assignment. He hasn\u2019t appeared in an MLB game since 2024.<\/p>\n

Looking at Christian Bethancourt\u2019s Career<\/p>\n

\n\"ChicagoGettyPITTSBURGH, PA \u2013 AUGUST 28: Christian Bethancourt #60 of the Chicago Cubs<\/a> hits a two RBI single in the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on August 28, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n

Bethancourt signed a minor-league contract with the Atlanta Braves<\/a> out of Panama back in 2008. He made his MLB debut with Atlanta in 2013.<\/p>\n

Bethancourt played for the Braves organization through the 2015 season. Atlanta traded the catcher to the San Diego Padres<\/a> for right-hander Casey Kelly and catcher Ricardo Rodriguez in the 205-16 offseason.<\/p>\n

\n\"PittsburghGettyATLANTA, GA \u2013 SEPTEMBER 24: Christian Bethancourt #25 of the Atlanta Braves slides in to third base against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the seventh inning at Turner Field on September 24, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n

Bethancourt played for the Padres through the 2017 season. After spending the 2018 season in the minors with the Milwaukee Brewers<\/a> organization, Bethancourt spent the 2019 season in South Korea.<\/p>\n

The veteran catcher finally returned to the majors in 2022, playing for the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays<\/a>. He spent the 2023 season with the Rays.<\/p>\n

\n\"TampaGettyTORONTO, CANADA \u2013 SEPTEMBER 30: Christian Bethancourt #14 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrates on base as he hits a single in the sixth inning of their MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays<\/a> at Rogers Centre on September 30, 2023 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Cole Burston\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n

In 2024, Bethancourt played for the Miami Marlins<\/a> and Chicago Cubs. He spent the 2025 season in the minors for the Blue Jays organization.<\/p>\n

Bethancourt signed a minor-league deal with the Chicago Cubs this past offseason. The Cubs released him in mid-July, allowing him to sign with the Yankees. He played for Team Panama in this year\u2019s World Baseball Classic.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tJackson Kruse<\/a> Jackson Kruse covers Major League Baseball for Heavy Sports. He is also the site expert for FanSided’s Minnesota Twins site, Puckett’s Pond, and writes for Nolan Writin’, FanSided’s Texas Rangers site. Jackson earned a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Media from Texas State University’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Before joining Heavy Sports and FanSided, he served as sports editor of The University Star, Texas State University’s student-run newspaper. More about Jackson Kruse<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty PHOENIX, ARIZONA – MAY 07: Manager Don Kelly #12 of the Pittsburgh Pirates reacts in the dugout…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279207,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-279206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}