The Nationals signed Pilkington on Thursday to a minor-league contract that includes an invitation to spring training, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.
Pilkington spent the 2024 season at Triple-A Reno in the Diamondbacks organization, holding a 5.91 ERA and 79:49 K:BB over 77.2 frames. The left-hander saw significant action at the major-league level with the Guardians in 2022, posting a 3.88 ERA across 58 innings. He'll likely begin the 2025 season in the rotation at Triple-A Rochester.
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Diamondbacks' Konnor Pilkington: Outrighted to Triple-A
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Pilkington was outrighted to Triple-A Reno on Thursday, per the MLB transaction log.
Pilkington was designated for assignment Friday and will head back to the minors. He's thrown only two innings in the majors this season and has a 9.53 ERA with a 2.22 WHIP across 39.2 frames with Reno for the campaign.
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Diamondbacks' Konnor Pilkington: Designated for assignment
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Pilkington was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks on Friday.
This move clears out a 40-man roster spot for outfielder Dominic Canzone, who is joining the Diamondbacks ahead of Friday's game versus the Pirates. Pilkington has made only appearance at the MLB level in 2023, and that was with the Guardians in April.
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Diamondbacks' Konnor Pilkington: Traded to Arizona
Rotowire
Arizona acquired Pilkington from Cleveland on Monday in exchange for cash considerations.
Pilkington had been removed from Cleveland's 40-man roster late last week and has now found a new home. The left-hander has a limited ceiling but is a capable depth arm for Arizona. He's posted a 3.75 ERA over 16 appearances (11 starts) at the big-league level and will likely slide into Triple-A Reno's rotation.
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Guardians' Konnor Pilkington: Dropped from 40-man roster
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The Guardians designated Pilkington for assignment Wednesday, Joe Noga of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Pilkington will move off the 40-man roster to open up a spot for right-hander Tanner Bibee, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Columbus ahead of his MLB debut Wednesday versus the Rockies. Though the 25-year-old southpaw was one of the Guardians' preferred spot starters in 2022 and struck out two over two scoreless innings of relief in Tuesday's 5-1 loss, Pilkington has since fallen behind all of Peyton Battenfield, Logan Allen, Bibee, Hunter Gaddis and Xzavion Curry on the organizational rotation depth chart. He'll now be exposed to waivers and could draw interest from an organization with lesser pitching depth than the Guardians.
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Guardians' Konnor Pilkington: Recalled from minors
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The Guardians recalled Pilkington from Triple-a Columbus on Tuesday, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.
Pilkington pitched three innings for Columbus on Saturday but could be available on two days' rest to give the Guardians an extra arm out of the bullpen. If the left-hander isn't needed in relief Tuesday, he could be a candidate to fill the vacancy in the rotation for Wednesday's series finale. However, even in that scenario, Chris Assenheimer of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram notes that Pilkington would likely be available for around 2-to-3 innings Wednesday, so the southpaw would be more of a glorified opener than a traditional starter.
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Guardians' Konnor Pilkington: Headed back to minors
Rotowire
The Guardians optioned Pilkington to Triple-A Columbus following Tuesday's doubleheader versus the Tigers.
Cleveland summoned Pilkington from Triple-A to serve as its 27th man for the twin bill, but he wasn't needed out of the bullpen. The 25-year-old lefty should step back into the Columbus rotation, unless the Guardians elect to call him back up when the team next needs a fifth starter Monday versus the Rockies in Cleveland. The Guardians have an opening in the rotation after the struggling Hunter Gaddis was optioned to Triple-A on Wednesday.
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Guardians' Konnor Pilkington: Added as 27th man
Rotowire
The Guardians recalled Pilkington from Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.
Pilkington has been designated as the 27th man for Tuesday's doubleheader with the Tigers, so he'll most likely be headed back to Columbus immediately after the twin bill. The left-hander has been starting at Columbus and will likely be in line to eat up some innings in relief Tuesday.
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Guardians' Konnor Pilkington: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
Pilkington was optioned to Triple-A Columbus by the Guardians on Friday.
Pilkington will begin the year in the minors after failing to secure a bid on the Opening Day staff. The southpaw will likely be an up-and-down option for Cleveland during the 2023 campaign.
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Guardians' Konnor Pilkington: Struggling with baserunners
Rotowire
Pilkington has allowed five earned runs, 10 hits and four walks while striking out eight over 6.1 innings across three Cactus League appearances.
The left-hander saw more time than initially expected in the majors last year, as he frequently served as a spot starter when the Guardians had to make up rained-out games. Pilkington did alright with a 3.88 ERA over 58 innings, but his 5.0 BB/9 was far too high to sustain that level of success. He would likely benefit more from starting at Triple-A Columbus to begin 2023, though he logged a 5.88 ERA and 1.51 WHIP across 56.2 innings in 2022 at that level. Barring injuries, the Guardians' five-man rotation is pretty much set, so Pilkington would likely be a reliever if he breaks camp with the team.
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Guardians' Konnor Pilkington: Returns to Triple-A
Rotowire
Pilkington struck out four over 3.1 innings and allowed four earned runs on three hits and three walks in his most recent start Friday for Triple-A Columbus.
The Guardians returned Pilkington to Triple-A on Sept. 18, one day after he was called up as Cleveland's 29th man for a doubleheader with the Twins. He covered 5.2 scoreless innings in the spot start with Cleveland -- his 11th overall of the season -- and struck out six while allowing one hit and two walks. With Aaron Civale recently returning from the injured list and Zach Plesac (hand) set to return during the upcoming week, Pilkington likely won't get the call back to Cleveland before the end of the season unless the Guardians lose another starting pitcher.
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Guardians' Konnor Pilkington: Solid in Saturday's outing
Rotowire
Pilkington allowed a hit and two walks while striking out six over 5.2 scoreless innings versus the Twins in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. He did not factor in the decision.
Pilkington turned in a strong performance, but he was long out of the game when it was finally decided in the 15th inning. He was tagged for four runs in five innings in his previous start, but this was a much more convincing outing. For the year, he has a 3.88 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 50:32 K:BB through 58 innings across 15 appearances (11 starts) in the majors. With Aaron Civale (forearm) set to return Tuesday, it's unclear if Pilkington will hang around as a reliever or get optioned back to Triple-A Columbus in favor of a fresh arm after Saturday's doubleheader depleted the Guardians' bullpen.
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Guardians' Konnor Pilkington: Sent down temporarily
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Pilkington was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Thursday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Pilkington won't be off the big-league roster for long, as it was announced Wednesday that he is in line to start the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Twins. Hunter Gaddis was recalled to take Pilkington's spot on the roster for the time being.
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Guardians' Konnor Pilkington: Locked in for another start
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Pilkington is scheduled to start the second game of Saturday's doubleheader with the Twins, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.
He'll be getting his second start of the week after he worked five innings while giving up four earned runs on three hits and three walks in a no-decision against the Angels on Monday. Pilkington is likely to head to the bullpen or to Triple-A Columbus following Saturday's outing, as Aaron Civale (forearm) looks to be trending toward a return from the 15-day injured list next week and would presumably take back his rotation spot from the rookie left-hander.
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Guardians' Konnor Pilkington: Coughs up four runs
Rotowire
Pilkington allowed four runs on three hits and three walks over five innings against the Angels on Monday. He struck out three and did not factor in the decision.
Pilkington began his start with three scoreless frames before coughing up two-run homers to Matt Duffy and Mike Trout in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively. The rookie southpaw is now sporting a 4.30 ERA through 52.1 MLB innings. However, he's posted a 5.09 ERA since earning his first and only win June 1. Pilkington is tentatively scheduled to face the Twins at home this weekend.
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Guardians' Konnor Pilkington: Back in majors
Rotowire
Pilkington was recalled from Triple-A Columbus on Sunday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.
Pilkinton was demoted to Triple-A after giving up two runs over five frames in a spot start for Cleveland in late July, and he'll rejoin the big club Sunday. The 24-year-old has started in nine of his 12 appearances for the Guardians and has a 4.17 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and 40:24 K:BB across 45.1 innings.
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Guardians' Konnor Pilkington: Dispatched to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Guardians optioned Pilkington to Triple-A Columbus on Sunday.
The left-hander was sent back to the minors after he served as the 27th man in Saturday's doubleheader with the White Sox. He drew his ninth start of the season with the big club in the second game of the twin bill, taking a no-decision while striking out three over five innings and allowing two earned runs on four hits and three walks. Though Pilkington will head to the minors for the time being, he could be called up in short order, as the Guardians have yet to settle on a permanent fifth starter while Aaron Civale (wrist) is on the 15-day injured list.
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Guardians' Konnor Pilkington: Solid in spot start
Rotowire
Pilkington allowed two runs on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts in five innings in a no-decision versus the White Sox in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.
Serving as the 27th man for the twin bill, Pilkington was solid but not much more than that. He received no run support while in the game, but the Guardians' offense got him off the hook with a four-run rally in the seventh. The southpaw now has a 4.17 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and 40:24 K:BB across 45.1 innings in 12 appearances (nine starts) with the Guardians this year. While it hasn't been officially announced yet, Pilkington is expected to return to Triple-A Columbus on Sunday, though he'll remain Cleveland's preferred spot starter while Aaron Civale (wrist) is out.
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Guardians' Konnor Pilkington: Getting spot start in twin bill
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The Guardians plan to call up Pilkington from Triple-A Columbus to start the second game of Saturday's doubleheader with the White Sox, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Pilkington has often been the Guardians' go-to option for spot starts this season, as he'll be making his 12th appearance and ninth start Saturday despite having not been a full-time member of the rotation at any point in 2022. While starting in his last eight outings, Pilkington has produced a 4.84 ERA, 1.78 WHIP and 32:20 K:BB in 35.1 innings. Since the Guardians plan on designating Pilkington as their 27th man for the twin bill, he's expected to immediately return to Columbus following Saturday's start.
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Guardians' Konnor Pilkington: Goes back to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Guardians optioned Pilkington to Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday.
As anticipated, Pilkington was moved back to the minors one day after the Guardians designated him as the 27th man for their doubleheader with the White Sox. He started the second game of the twin bill and took the loss after surrendering four runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk while striking out three over five innings.
