3 Pirates relievers who deserve save opportunities before the season ends

3) Carmen Mlodzinski

The Pirates gave Carmen Mlodzinski an opportunity to be a starting pitcher earlier this year. While the former first-round pick was a starter in college and early in his minor league career, he did not perform well as one in the Major Leagues. He tossed 39.2 innings, putting up a poor 5.67 ERA, 4.32 FIP, and 1.61 WHIP. He may have only walked 6.1% of opponents with a 1.13 HR/9, but had just a 15.6% strikeout percentage. After struggling through nine starts, the Pirates sent him back to Triple-A to get accustomed to working out of the pen.

Mlodzinski has pitched 30.1 innings upon returning to the pen, working to a 2.08 ERA, 3.18 FIP, and 1.12 WHIP. He has a solid 23.8% strikeout percentage and 23.5% whiff rate. The right-hander rarely walks opponents, as his 4.8% BB% makes him one of 36 relievers with a sub-5% free pass percentage. While Mlodzinski has gotten hit hard with a 91.6 MPH exit velocity, he has not surrendered much quality contact with a 5.7% barrel rate and 0.89 HR/9 ratio.

This strong performance as a reliever shouldn’t be a huge shock. Between 2023 and 2024, Mlodzinski put up a 2.91 ERA, 3.64 FIP, and 1.22 WHIP primarily serving as a reliever. He made five appearances as a starting pitcher, but was utilized more like an opener than a traditional starter. His 22.2% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate may not have jumped off the page, but his 3.3% barrel rate should have. That was the seventh lowest of any pitcher with at least 80 IP in 2023 and 2024.

Mlodzinski does not have much experience in high leverage, at least not yet. He did have a 1.4 leverage index in 2023 and pitched in many late and close games. His final 25 games of the season came in the seventh inning or later. Of those 25, 18 ended within two runs. But in 2024, his average leverage index fell to 0.96, as he was used as an opener more frequently.

Still, Mlodzinski could be very valuable as a closer for the Pirates. Given that he can pitch multiple innings when needed, the Pirates can get creative with their usage of him. He can be his own eighth-inning set-up man if the Pirates’ bullpen is taxed for the week. He could work as both a seventh and eighth inning arm for Moreta or Mattson, if the Pirates opt to go down that route as well.

For now, Mlodzinski should definitely get a crack at the closing gig. It’s something that they should have tried before moving him into the starting rotation.