SAN DIEGO – The Pirates made a series of roster moves Friday in response to starter Trevor Williams’ injury and reliever Richard Rodriguez’s struggles with the long ball.

Williams was placed on the 10-day injured list, and Rodriguez was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. In their places, right-handers Clay Holmes and fast-rising prospect Geoff Hartlieb were promoted from Indianapolis.

Williams to rest injury

Williams will rest his right side strain for 10 days before he is assessed by the Pirates’ medical staff to determine whether he can throw again.

“It’s a little bump in the road,” said Williams, a San Diego native. “It’s unfortunate that this happened. But I’m in San Diego. The sun came out today. I’m surrounded by a lot of friends and family.”

Williams, 27, leads the Pirates with 54 innings pitched and has a 3.33 ERA. He had pitched at least six innings in each start this season before the injury halted his outing Thursday in the fourth inning. He felt some discomfort in the side earlier in the game and put a stop to things after striking out Wil Myers.

“I’m glad that I took myself out when I did and didn’t make it any worse than it is,” Williams said. “We’ll reassess in 10 days. Hopefully, it all goes according to plan. … It’s frustrating. It’s my first time on the IL. Hopefully, it’s my last.”

Hartlieb rises to Majors

Just six years ago, Hartlieb, 25, was a guard for Quincy College's basketball team, averaging 1.8 points a game and becoming disillusioned with the sport he loved. After a 2:30 a.m. call from farm director Larry Broadway, Hartlieb can call himself a big league pitcher.

“It’s unbelievable,” Hartlieb said after jetting to San Diego. “I’m excited to be here.”

After transferring to Lindenwood University to concentrate on baseball, Hartlieb was a 29th-round draft pick by the Bucs in 2016 and rose the ranks on the strength of a power sinker. This week, he cracked the MLB Pipeline top prospects list as the Pirates’ No. 29 prospect.

“You’re kind of behind the eight ball to start with, and you kind of have to prove yourself right away,” Hartlieb said of being a low-round Draft pick. “If you don’t do that, you’re thrown into the fire. Starting off hot and keeping it going, that’s what I tried to do.

“The higher you go, the less there are guys who are like you, low-round Draft picks. It puts that chip on your shoulder, and it’s fun to pitch with, in my opinion.”

In 12 relief appearances with Indianapolis this season, he had a 3.32 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 19 innings. In four Minor League seasons, he has a 3.01 ERA and has averaged 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

“He’s continued to develop through our system,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “Power sinker. He’s got a top-end fastball. He’s got a breaking ball that he’s used. You look at his numbers -- strikeout-to-walk ratio, ground-ball percentages -- he’s just continued to grow and develop. We saw him in Spring Training, liked what we saw. It’s an opportunity to get him in play and grow him up a little.”

Holmes, 26, had a 6.75 ERA in two appearances with the Pirates earlier this season and a 6.32 ERA in 10 games at Triple-A.

Rodriguez to reset

Hurdle said Rodriguez’s demotion will be used to “recalibrate” the right-hander in more controlled situations than are possible in Major League games. His appearances will be scripted as much as possible, in terms of pitching days and pitch selection.

Rodriguez, 29, has not been able to match his 2018 success. He had a 2.47 ERA in 63 relief outings last year and struck out 11.4 batters per nine innings. This year, the ERA has zoomed to 5.49, and Rodriguez has allowed eight home runs in 19 2/3 innings. Last year, he allowed five homers in 69 1/3 innings. Rodriguez surrendered a three-run shot to Ian Kinsler on Thursday in a game the Pirates lost 4-3.

“The home run ball has shown up with too much frequency,” Hurdle said. “The overall fastball command has been below what we’ve seen in the past. The breaking ball and changeup haven’t really played much, so hitters have eliminated pitches. They’re sitting on one pitch.

“We need him in the bullpen. We saw the value he can bring last year. Bullpen pitchers aren’t like position players, where you can unplug them for a few days and give them a break. The number of games we’re in, we need everyone to be serviceable. This will allow him to take some time to just flush physically … to go down and recalibrate so he can find his way back and help us here. Give him a fresh start, something where you’re not under the microscope like you are at this level.”

Notable

• Hurdle is waiting until after the game Friday to announce his starting pitcher for Saturday. The decision could be determined by how the bullpen is used Friday. The Pirates figure to either use an opener for a short start or left-hander Steven Brault for a traditional start.

• Catcher Jacob Stallings has cleared outright waivers and has been assigned outright to Indianapolis.