The Pirates placed Howard on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a right oblique strain, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

The lefty appeared in five games after being activated from the IL on June 29, posting a 16.20 ERA in 3.1 innings while walking four batters and hitting two. It's currently unclear whether Howard will be activated soon after he's eligible July 20. The Pirates have yet to announce a corresponding move.

Howard (knee) was activated off the injured list Tuesday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

EDGE Analysis

Howard will wind up missing just the minimum 10 days while battling right knee tendinitis. He'll return to his usual bullpen role, with Austin Davis getting optioned to clear a space for him.

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczak said Wednesday that he expects Howard (knee) to throw off the slope of a mound by the end of the week, Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

EDGE Analysis

Pittsburgh isn't envisioning a long-term stay on the injured list for Howard, who was deactivated Sunday due to right knee tendinitis. Before the injury played a factor in Howard surrendering six runs while recording just two outs in a June 18 outing versus Cleveland, he had posted a 2.45 ERA and 1.05 WHIP across his first 32 appearances out of the Pittsburgh bullpen.

The Pirates placed Howard on the 10-day injured list Sunday due to right knee tendinitis.

EDGE Analysis

The injury likely played a part in Howard's worst outing of the season Friday, when he was lit up for six runs on four hits and two walks while retiring just two Cleveland batters. The disastrous showing moved Howard's season ERA from a tidy 2.45 all the way up to 4.44. Pittsburgh recalled lefty Austin Davis from Triple-A Indianapolis to fill Howard's spot in the bullpen.

Howard gave up six earned runs on four hits and two walks while recording only two outs in Friday's 11-10 win over the Indians.

EDGE Analysis

He surrendered a grand slam to Cesar Hernandez in his worst outing of 2021. Howard threw only 18 of 33 pitches for strikes, leading to his struggles. The lefty had compiled a 2.45 ERA and nine holds in 25.2 innings prior to Friday but saw his earned-run average jump nearly two runs to 4.44 after Friday's blowup.

Howard (1-0) earned the win in relief Thursday against the Cubs after striking out the side in a spotless inning.

EDGE Analysis

Howard pitched the sixth inning of the season opener and was absolutely dominant -- he tossed nine of his 13 pitches for strikes. That said, the entire Pirates bullpen was lights out, allowing just one run across six frames between six hurlers. Howard is coming off the best season of his career in 2020, as he posted a 3.86 ERA with a career-best 1.24 WHIP across 21 innings (22 appearances).

Howard (2-3) allowed two runs on three hits while pitching just one-third of an inning to take the loss against the Cardinals on Saturday.

EDGE Analysis

As part of a bullpen meltdown, Geoff Hartlieb came in and walked the first two batters he saw. Howard allowed both inherited runners to score and yielded two runs of his own to take the loss. The implosion squandered six no-hit innings from Mitch Keller and raised Howard's ERA to 3.66 through 20 appearances.

Howard was recalled from the three-man taxi squad Sunday, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Howard was unable to secure a spot on the Opening Day roster, but he'll join the active roster after spending time on the taxi squad. The 27-year-old should fill a low-leverage role out of the bullpen for the Buccos.

Howard was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday.

EDGE Analysis

Howard was plucked off waivers from the Rockies in October but won't be opening the season in the big leagues. He owns a 5.87 ERA in 23 career major-league innings.

Howard was claimed off waivers by the Pirates on Wednesday.

EDGE Analysis

Howard threw 19 innings for the Rockies this season, struggling to a 6.63 ERA. The lefty's 25.3 percent strikeout rate was decent, and he struck out 28.7 percent of batters at Triple-A Albuquerque, so he could have a shot at a bullpen spot in Pittsburgh on Opening Day.