According to MLB.com’s transactions tracker, the Pittsburgh Pirates have inked pitcher Jose Urquidy to a minor-league contract.
He was designated for assignment by the Phillies earlier this week, and instead of accepting an outright assignment to the minors, Urquidy decided to elect free agency, and he wasn’t a free agent for very long.
“Pittsburgh Pirates signed free agent RHP José Urquidy to a minor league contract.”
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Jose Urquidy Signs with Pirates
Jose Urquidy had a brief stint with the Pirates in 2026.
He pitched 6.1 innings with the organization and allowed six earned runs with six strikeouts.
As far as Urquidy’s total body of work in 2026, he logged 36.1 innings and recorded an ERA of 4.95.
He bounced around on waivers after being cut by a few different teams. He also pitched for the Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies.
MLBTR.com’s Darragh McDonald wrote (about Urquidy):
“This year, he was healthy and had some reasonable effectiveness. In addition to his big league work, he tossed 95 2/3 innings over 20 Triple-A starts. He had a 3.48 ERA, 20.8% strikeout rate, 5.3% walk rate and 41.3% ground ball rate in those. Last offseason, he was able to get a big league deal with a $1.5MM guarantee from the Pirates. His earning power should be in about the same range this year. He could get a big league deal or a minor league pact from a club searching for experienced rotation depth.”
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Taking a Quick Look at Jose Urquidy’s MLB Career
Jose Urquidy has pitched in parts of seven MLB seasons in his career.
Injuries have played a factor in recent seasons, as he got off to a strong start to his career with the Houston Astros, including his best season coming in 2022 to help the Astros win the World Series.
He logged just 2.1 innings in 2025 and did not pitch at all in MLB in 2024.
Across 443.2 innings, Urquidy holds a lifetime ERA of 4.08 with 359 strikeouts.
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