PITTSBURGH -- James Marvel follows a routine at the end of every season. Following his first three years in professional baseball, he made good use of his drive home by calling family and friends, listening to music, sitting in silence and reflecting on his recently completed season. Then he took a week or so to develop an offseason plan.

Marvel took the same approach after starting the last game of the season for Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday. He drove home to Washington, D.C., and kept his arm fresh by throwing a baseball against a fence at a local tennis court. Marvel was in the middle of the last part of that process on Wednesday when he got a call just before 11 p.m. ET. The message was simple, Marvel said: “Pack your bags and come to Pittsburgh.”

“That kind of got interrupted last night,” Marvel added. “I’m glad that it did get interrupted.”

Marvel drove to Pittsburgh on Thursday morning, walked into the home clubhouse at PNC Park and found a No. 74 jersey with his name on it. The right-handed starting pitcher will be added to the Bucs’ roster at some point in the coming days, but he wasn’t entirely sure about the specifics as of Thursday afternoon. Neither were the Pirates.

Pittsburgh’s starter for Sunday's game against the Cardinals is currently listed as “TBA.” It could be top prospect Mitch Keller, depending on how his bruised right wrist feels after a throwing session that took place Thursday afternoon. Or it might be Marvel, making his Major League debut.

If he doesn’t pitch Sunday, Marvel could start later this month if the Bucs decide to skip or shut down any of their other starters.

“With Keller, we feel optimistic, but we don’t know,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “We have some guys pushing some innings. We’re optimistic, but we don’t know. I think we got him here to supplement either a starting opportunity or the overall pitching staff in some role.”

Pittsburgh selected Marvel, who will turn 26 on Sept. 17, out of Duke University in the 36th round of the 2015 Draft. He is not listed among the Bus' Top 30 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline. Marvel was not invited to big league Spring Training this year. He’s not even on their 40-man roster.

But Marvel earned this opportunity with a strong start for Double-A Altoona and an even better finish with Triple-A Indianapolis, where he went 7-0 with a 2.67 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP in 11 starts. In the International League, which saw home run totals dramatically surge this year, he allowed only four in 60 2/3 innings.

“The reports were all very, very good and solid. Very well-prepared,” Hurdle said. “He was very opportunistic when he got the chance; took advantage of it. Executed pitches. Got outs.”

Marvel is hoping to do the same whenever he takes the mound for Pittsburgh. It was all still a blur during his first big league workout, not even a day after he got to share the news with his girlfriend and parents.

“Obviously, the ultimate goal is to get here and impact this Pittsburgh team in any way that I can,” Marvel said. “You always know that it’s a possibility, but other than that, I really just tried to focus on my teammates in Indy, learn, get better. I was really grateful to get called up halfway through the season and be there. I’m even more grateful now.”

Around the horn

• The Pirates added another arm to their expanded bullpen on Thursday by recalling right-hander Alex McRae from Indianapolis. McRae had been with the club at PNC Park the past two days.

• Center fielder Starling Marte was out of the lineup for the second straight game. Hurdle said the Bucs are “giving him some time down.” Asked if Marte is dealing with an injury, Hurdle said that he was waiting to hear from the club’s trainers. Marte was not among the players mentioned by director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk during the club’s weekly injury update on Wednesday.

• Relievers Yacksel Rios and Wei-Chung Wang made their season debuts for the Pirates on Wednesday night, becoming the 49th and 50th players to appear in a game for Pittsburgh this season. The Bucs set a club record by using 55 players in 2016.