Without Holderman, who else can record holds?

This story was excerpted from Justice delos Santos’ Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The back end of the Pirates’ bullpen looked very different on June 16 compared to May 16.

With the Pirates placing right-hander Colin Holderman on the 15-day injured list Thursday due to right wrist inflammation, manager Derek Shelton and company are left to determine which relievers to call upon in late-game situations going forward.

“We’re kind of at the point right now, with the injuries that we’re having, that it’s next guy up,” Shelton said.

David Bednar, of course, remains Pittsburgh’s closer and appears on his way to securing a second consecutive All-Star selection. Bednar has a 1.78 ERA with 31 strikeouts across 25 1/3 innings, and his 1.46 FIP leads all qualified relievers. The cast of characters tasked with serving as a bridge to Bednar, however, looks fairly different.

Holderman, who has 12 holds this season, has been bothered by a wrist issue for the last week, likely contributing to him allowing three earned runs and recording just two outs in his last appearance against the Cubs.

Robert Stephenson, often used during the seventh inning of close games, was traded to the Rays earlier this month in exchange for Minor League shortstop Alika Williams.

Duane Underwood Jr., another medium-leverage option, was designated for assignment in late-May and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Indianapolis.

In April and May, Shelton often called upon Holderman, Stephenson and Underwood to serve as a bridge to Bednar. Through different sets of circumstances, all three are now unavailable.

With Holderman on the injured list indefinitely, the likeliest option to fill Holderman’s spot as setup man is Dauri Moreta.

The 27-year-old right-hander, unorthodox slider and all, has become an invaluable piece in the Pirates’ bullpen this season. Along with posting a 1.71 ERA with 43 strikeouts across 31 2/3 innings, Moreta has had a knack for stranding runners; of the 24 runners that Moreta has inherited, only three have scored.

Moreta is already familiar with higher leverage situations as well. The stat “gmLI” measures “a pitcher’s average leverage index when he enters the game,” per FanGraphs. The higher that number, the bigger the situation. Among Pittsburgh’s relievers, Moreta’s gmLI of 1.23 is the third-highest on the team, behind only Holderman (1.28) and Bednar (1.69). On Friday, for example, Moreta entered the game with one out in the seventh inning and the Pirates trailing by one run.

“Holderman’s situation is a little tough for the bullpen, but no matter what situation they put me in, I’m going to try to help this team win,” Moreta said.

Yohan Ramirez stands to pitch in more high-leverage situations as well. The right-hander’s last two outings (five earned runs in just one inning) have inflated Ramirez’s ERA to 3.18, but the right-hander has generally pitched well this season. In his first 16 outings of the season, Ramirez allowed just three earned runs across 21 2/3 innings (1.25 ERA) with 21 strikeouts to eight walks.

Ramirez didn’t pitch in many leverage situations to begin the season. In April and May, Ramirez had a gmLI of 0.25. In June, by contrast, Ramirez has a gmLI of 1.99. This month, only Bednar’s gmLI (2.02) is higher.

Shelton hasn’t hesitated to put Ramirez in leverage situations in recent weeks. On June 3, Ramirez entered in the top of the eighth inning with a runner on first and the Pirates leading by one run. The next night, Ramirez inherited another one-run lead in, again, the eighth inning. On both occasions, Ramirez got the outs he needed before handing the baton off to Bednar.

The Pirates’ need for late-inning arms has also pushed Jose Hernandez into more higher-leverage situations.

In the beginning of the season, the Pirates made a concerted effort to ease Hernandez, a Rule 5 Draft pick who was pitching in Double-A last season, into things. Through April, Hernandez had a gmLI of 0.34, the lowest among all relievers who threw at least five innings. In May, Hernandez had a gmLI of 0.74, the product of him pitching in later, tighter games with more frequency. In June, Hernandez has a gmLI of 1.03.

“He is extremely composed,” Shelton said. “You would not know he’s a Rule 5 pick that barely pitched above A-ball. The other thing is he throws strikes and the slider is a real weapon. When you have a young pitcher that comes in and attacks the zone and can throw multiple pitches for strikes, that’s a really good sign. It’s been a good pickup for us.”