Howard cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Toledo on Saturday.
Howard has been pitching in Toledo since mid-May, posting a 3.75 ERA, 19:9 K:BB and 1.42 WHIP in 12 innings over 14 appearances. After losing his spot on the 40-man roster Tuesday, the 29-year-old will remain with the Triple-A club.
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Tigers' Sam Howard: Dropped from 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Tigers designated Howard for assignment Tuesday.
He'll cede his spot on the 40-man roster to right-hander Drew Hutchison, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Toledo ahead of his scheduled start Tuesday against the Guardians. After being claimed off waivers from the Pirates in mid-May, Howard had pitched exclusively at the Triple-A level with his new organization. In 14 appearances out of the Toledo bullpen, Howard posted a 3.75 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in 12 innings.
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Tigers' Sam Howard: Claimed by Tigers
Rotowire
Howard was claimed off waivers by the Tigers on Friday.
Howard made three relief appearances for the Pirates in April and allowed two runs on two hits and four walks while striking out one in two innings. The southpaw was designated for assignment last weekend but will report to Triple-A Toledo now that he's found a new organization.
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Pirates' Sam Howard: Designated for assignment
Rotowire
Howard was designated for assignment by the Pirates on Saturday.
Howard had already lost his spot on the active roster when rosters shrunk to 26 players Monday. He'll now lose his spot on the 40-man as well as the Pirates clear space to select Michael Perez's contract.
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Pirates' Sam Howard: Moves to minors
Rotowire
The Pirates optioned Howard to Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday.
Howard made three appearances out of the bullpen during his latest stint with the big club, covering two innings while giving up two earned runs on two hits and four walks. He was sent to the minors along with reliever Miguel Yajure on Monday with Pittsburgh needing to reduce its active roster from 28 to 26 players.
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Pirates' Sam Howard: Joins Bucs bullpen
Rotowire
The Pirates recalled Howard from Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday.
The addition of Howard gives the Pirates another lefty reliever after southpaw Anthony Banda (illness) was placed on the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move. After opening the season on the IL with back spasms, Howard was activated last Wednesday and optioned to Indianapolis, where he's given up an earned run over 2.2 innings between his two appearances with the affiliate.
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Pirates' Sam Howard: Activated and optioned
Rotowire
The Pirates activated Howard (back) from the 10-day injured list Wednesday and optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
The transaction comes one day after Howard made his first appearance for Indianapolis and the second of his rehab assignment after he opened the season the shelf due to a back strain. He recorded five outs in Tuesday's relief outing, so Howard looks like he'll face no restrictions moving forward. If he performs well over an extended stretch at Indianapolis, Howard could put himself on the radar for a call-up to the big club.
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Pirates' Sam Howard: Shifts rehab to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Pirates shifted Howard's (back) rehab assignment from Low-A Bradenton to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Howard will get a stiffer test for his second rehab outing after he struck out two and issued one walk over a scoreless inning for Bradenton on Friday. If all goes well in his appearance for Indianapolis, Howard could be activated from the 10-day injured list at some point over the weekend.
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Pirates' Sam Howard: Begins rehab assignment
Rotowire
Howard (back) will begin a rehab assignment at Low-A Bradenton on Friday, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.
Howard was shut down late in spring training due to back spasms, but it's encouraging that he's now been cleared to appear in minor-league games. It's not yet clear when the southpaw will be able to make his season debut with the Pirates, but he appears to be trending toward a return.
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Pirates' Sam Howard: Begins season on IL
Rotowire
The Pirates placed Howard on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a mid-back strain, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.
According to Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com, Howard's back injury had resulted in him being shut down from throwing as of Monday, so he seems likely to require more than the minimum amount of time on the shelf. Howard collected 12 holds and struck out 60 over 45 innings while filling a setup role for the Pirates in 2021, but poor ratios (5.60 ERA, 1.47 WHIP) made it difficult to extract value from him even in NL-only leagues.
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Pirates' Sam Howard: Experiencing back spasms
Rotowire
Howard is day-to-day after recently experienced back spasms, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.
Howard is currently not throwing, putting his availability for Opening Day in question. The reliever appeared in 54 games with the Pirates in 2021, struggling to a 5.60 ERA and 1.47 WHIP over 45 innings while securing 12 holds and blowing his only save opportunity. One silver-lining to the season was that Howard produced an eye-popping 12.0 K/9, improving on a career-best 11.6 K/9 from the year prior.
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Pirates' Sam Howard: Strikes out side as opener
Rotowire
Howard struck out three in a perfect inning in Friday's 8-6 loss to Philadelphia.
The southpaw did his job as the opener in Friday's bullpen game, mowing through the top of Philadelphia's order in just 12 pitches (nine strikes). Howard owns a 5.66 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 54:29 K:BB through 41.1 innings while logging 11 holds in 50 appearances. The 28-year-old is most likely to resume a low-leverage relief role going forward.
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Pirates' Sam Howard: Set to lead bullpen game
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Howard will start a bullpen game for the Pirates on Friday against the Phillies, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.
Howard has not thrown multiple innings in any of his last four outings and has not completed more than two frames across the entire season. Given that, he will likely be in for a very short outing. Miguel Yajure -- originally projected to start the game -- could serve as a bulk reliever after Howard's exit, though no official plans have been announced by the team.
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Pirates' Sam Howard: Takes loss Sunday
Rotowire
Howard (2-4) allowed two runs on one hit and one walk in just a third of an inning as he took the loss against the Cubs on Sunday.
Howard entered in the seventh with one out and a man on first and the Pirates clinging onto a one-run lead. He only stayed in to face the minimum of three batters and was pulled with the bases loaded and two outs. His replacement went on to allow a grand slam and two of those runs were charged to Howard. The 28-year-old has now allowed six runs (five earned) over 3.2 innings since returning from the injured list Aug. 28 and has lost twice during that span.
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Pirates' Sam Howard: Reinstated from injured list
Rotowire
Howard (oblique) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Saturday.
Howard spent a month and a half on the 10-day injured list after he suffered a right oblique strain just before the All-Star break. However, he made four rehab appearances at Triple-A Indianapolis and allowed two hits and two walks while striking out six in 4.2 scoreless innings.
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Pirates' Sam Howard: Begins rehab assignment
Rotowire
Howard (oblique) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Howard has missed over a month with a strained right oblique. It's unclear how many rehab appearances he'll need to make, but he doesn't need to build up a high pitch count as a reliever, so he could be back before too long.
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Pirates' Sam Howard: Faces hitters Wednesday
Rotowire
Howard (oblique) threw a simulated game at PNC Park on Wednesday, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Howard resumed mound work last week as he continues to work his way back from a right oblique strain, and he felt good after facing hitters Wednesday. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk didn't say how many simulated games the southpaw will participate in, but Howard's next step in his recovery will likely be a rehab assignment.
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Pirates' Sam Howard: Beginning mound work
Rotowire
Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Howard (oblique) has started slope and mound progression as he works his way through a throwing program, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Howard incurred no setbacks with his right oblique strain while increasing his throwing distance off flat ground over the past couple weeks, so he'll take the next step forward in his rehab process. Once Howard completes a few higher-intensity bullpen sessions featuring his full arsenal, he'll then advance to facing hitters in live batting practice or simulated games before heading out on a rehab assignment. The lefty reliever appears unlikely to come off the 10-day injured list until the second half of August.
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Pirates' Sam Howard: Ramping up intensity
Rotowire
Howard (oblique) has increased his throwing distance to 90 feet, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Howard resumed playing catch last week, and he's been able to increase his volume and intensity since then. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that he's hopeful that the southpaw will be able to increase his throwing distance to 120 feet by the end of the week.
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Pirates' Sam Howard: Resumes playing catch
Rotowire
Howard (oblique) recently resumed playing catch, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Howard has been on the 10-day injured list for just over a week due to a right oblique strain. A better timetable for the southpaw's return could be revealed once he's able to resume mound work, but it appears as though he could spend more than the minimum of 10 days on the IL.
