CINCINNATI -- Right-hander Alex McRae had the proverbial cup of coffee with the Pirates last season, which helped ease the nerves this time around when he got the call to the big leagues.

“A little more calm than last time,” McRae said. “I feel more comfortable.”

McRae was promoted by Pittsburgh prior to the first game of Monday’s doubleheader to help fortify a bullpen that was saddled with 16 2/3 innings during the three-game series with the Dodgers over the weekend. In turn, right-hander Dovydas Neverauskas was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.

To make room for McRae on the 40-man roster, outfielder Corey Dickerson was transferred from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL.

In nine starts for Triple-A Indianapolis, McRae allowed 28 earned runs over 48 2/3 innings for a 5.18 ERA. He walked 16 and struck out 44. His most recent outing on May 22 against Louisville showed improvement -- he allowed two runs over seven innings, with no walks and eight strikeouts.

"He's stretched out, he has volume, has pitched effectively at times," manager Clint Hurdle said. "This is his second opportunity to come up here and show us what he learned."

McRae, who allowed four earned runs over a combined 6 1/3 innings with five walks and five strikeouts over two relief appearances for the Bucs in 2018, said he benefited from his time spent with veteran pitchers during Spring Training. He’s also worked on the simple act of being able to hone in on refining his stuff, and learning how to better use all of his pitches.

"In Spring Training this year, [I learned by] just watching the veteran guys and watching how they used all their stuff," McRae said. "I watched [Joe] Musgrove all the time, watched his bullpens and just how he used all his stuff together. I think that really helped me. Just getting confident in everything was huge."

The Pirates made several roster moves on a busy Memorial Day in Cincinnati. Right-hander Rich Rodriguez was added to serve as the club's 26th man for the doubleheader, necessitated after the March 30 contest at Great American Ball Park was rained out.

Rodriguez, who made 22 relief appearances for Pittsburgh before he was optioned to Triple-A 10 days ago, made just two appearances for Indianapolis before he was called up.

"This is a 26th-man opportunity," Hurdle said. "He's here for a day. He's got experience at the Major League level, he's had some success against some of these [Reds] hitters over here. He's in surroundings he's familiar with, plus he's back with a group of men that he's very cohesive with. It seemed like a good fit for us based on need and based on his skill set."

Dads trip

The Pirates' flight to Cincinnati for this three-day road trip was significantly more crowded than usual, thanks to the annual "Dads Trip" that became a tradition beginning early in Hurdle's tenure as the team's manager.

Players' dads are invited to fly with the team, hang out in the clubhouse before and after games and, in general, enjoy the Major League experience their sons are afforded on a daily basis. The group also enjoyed a large social gathering after arriving in Cincinnati on Sunday night.

This is the seventh Dads Trip the Bucs have hosted. Hurdle's own dad, Clint Sr., has been on all of them.

"This started 56 years ago," Hurdle said, gesturing toward his father. "He grabbed me by the hand and said, 'You want to go play catch?' A lot's happened in 56 years.'"

In addition to the obvious father-son bonding opportunities, Hurdle hopes the Dads Trip can serve as a reminder that being there for their sons during tough times is just as important as celebrating the wins.

"I remind them, 'When you play well [in the Majors], you don't go up -- you stay until you don't play well here, and then you figure out how to play well again,'" Hurdle said. "For fathers to be mindful of that -- there's going to be rough days. There's going to be tough days. Embrace it as much as you do the good days.

"Stay connected through the challenging times, because it's more meaningful. He's not going to do well every day here. It's just not going to happen. That's our little gift to them that hopefully they can get a grasp of now -- the fathers and sons walk on together through this."

Bucs make a trade

The Pirates acquired right-handed pitcher Yefry Ramírez from the Baltimore Orioles on Monday in exchange for a player to be named or cash considerations. Ramirez will be assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis.

To make room on the 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher Jesus Liranzo was designated for assignment. When a player's contract is designated for assignment -- often abbreviated "DFA" -- that player is immediately removed from his club's 40-man roster, and 25-man roster if he was on that as well. Within seven days of the transaction (it was previously 10 days), the player must either be traded, released or placed on irrevocable outright waivers.