Pittsburgh Pirates: Making the Case to Keep Chad Kuhl in the Bullpen

Since Pittsburgh Pirates righty Chad Kuhl has come back from his IL stint, he has been pitching from the bullpen and has not been bad by any means, should Kuhl get a permanent role as a relief pitcher?

Chad Kuhl has made four appearances as a reliever this season for the Pittsburgh Pirates and all have come within the last 10 days. During those 10 days Kuhl has thrown 5 innings allowing just 1 run on 6 hits, 2 walks and 7 strikeouts.

What can make Kuhl a strong reliever is not just his ability to last longer than other pitchers in the bullpen, but he uses five different pitches. His pitch arsenal consists of a slider, fastball, sinker, curveball, and a changeup, he uses his slider the most at 44% of the time.

Additionally, pitching out of the bullpen allows any pitcher to pitch with more authority due to them not looking to go 5 or 6 innings that outing. This will lead to that pitcher’s stuff playing up and that has been the case with Kuhl.

Kuhl should remain in the bullpen, in part because the Pittsburgh Pirates have few other reliable back-end options outside of David Bednar. Each pitcher in the bullpen aside from Kuhl, Chris Stratton, Chasen Shreve, Bednar, and Duane Underwood has an ERA of 4.40+, the highest being Luis Oviedo with a 9.82 ERA.

Kuhl offers a stronger and more durable arm with more guess from opponents because of how many pitches he has. Chad being in the bullpen also opens a spot in the rotation for a younger arm from the minor leagues, which fits perfectly in the timeline of general manager Ben Cherington’s rebuild.

It has also long been expected that Kuhl’s long-term home could be in the bullpen. Since moving to he bullpen he has shown why many have long felt this would be the case for Kuhl, proving that his best long-term home may indeed be in the ‘pen.

Kuhl seems to be much better as a relief pitcher than a starter even though he hasn’t made many appearances from the pen. The key points are he is pitching well so far and has only given up one run in 5 innings. The 28-year old will most likely finish the season with the role of reliever and then it’s up to coaches after that, but personally, I think Chad Kuhl could really fill a spot that Pittsburgh doesn’t have without him.