Photo courtesy of the Pittsburgh Pirates
This is one in a series breaking down players on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 40-man roster.
One of the many deals the Pirates made at this year’s trade deadline was dealing starting pitcher Bailey Falter to the Kansas City Royals for left-handed pitcher Evan Sisk and first base prospect Callan Moss.
Sisk was a 16th round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2018 draft and has already been part of three trades. He was shipped from St. Louis to the Minnesota Twins in a 2021 trade for former Pirates pitcher J.A. Happ and was traded again in 2023 to the Royals in a deal that sent former Pirates outfielder Michael Taylor to Minnesota.
The 28-year-old made his MLB debut with the Royals in 2025 prior to getting traded to Pittsburgh. Once with the Pirates, Sisk totaled 14 appearances and went 1-1 with a 4.38 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 12.1 innings.
Through the very early portion of his big-league career, Sisk has struck out batters at a high rate. In 17.2 innings between the Royals and Pirates this year, he recorded 25 strikeouts (12.7 per nine innings).
In 363 career minor-league innings, Sisk has struck out 421 batters including 42 in 37 innings at Triple-A this past season.
Sisk has one advantage to try and earn a spot with the Pirates come Opening Day given how the roster is currently constructed. He’s one of only three left-handed pitchers on the 40-man roster along with top 100 prospect Hunter Barco and the recently-added Tyler Samaniego.
The Pirates would be wise to add a veteran left-handed relief option this winter given that the trio has a combined 20.2 innings of big-league experience between them.
Even if they do, Sisk will probably find himself in competition to earn a spot in the bullpen once spring training starts in February. Whether he breaks camp with the Pirates or not, it’s always good to have left-handed pitching depth.
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