Don Kelly's bullpen approach is wasting Pirates' best relief weapon

Pulling Jared Jones after six perfect innings Wednesday was an unpopular decision by Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly, but the real issue was what happened after.

Jones handed a perfect game bid to a bullpen that has become one of the Pirates’ biggest problems at exactly the wrong time. Entering Wednesday's game, Pittsburgh’s bullpen had produced a 5.11 ERA with eight losses and five blown saves against just six successful saves since the start of June.

That's bad enough on its own. It looks even worse when Carmen Mlodzinski, arguably their best available relief weapon, is being used in a way that makes it harder for him to actually impact games.

Mlodzinski pitched mop-up innings Tuesday, entering in relief of Paul Skenes and inheriting an eight-run Pirates lead. The bullpen proceeded to cost the Pirates wins in each of the next two games, with Kelly turning to Dennis Santana in back-to-back spots instead. That's the kind of sequence that makes the current bullpen approach almost impossible to defend.

Pirates' misguided bullpen strategy is wasting their best reliever in Carmen Mlodzinski

This isn't about expecting Mlodzinski to pitch every night. He's not on a normal reliever’s schedule, and the Pirates have been clear about that. Ben Cherington explained (via Pirates reporter Alex Stumpf) that after Mlodzinski pitches, he and pitching coach Bill Murphy meet to determine how many recovery days he needs before he is available again. There is some fluidity once he clears that recovery period, but the trade-off is obvious: waiting to use him also pushes back his next potential outing.

That approach might make sense if the Pirates had a deep, functional bullpen. But by now, it should be painfully clear that they do not.

The only Pirates relievers with at least four appearances since the start of June and an ERA under 5.00 are Evan Sisk, who is currently on the injured list, Yohan Ramírez and Mlodzinski. That should make Mlodzinski one of the most important arms on the staff, not someone whose usage feels like guesswork.

The Pirates may very well be trying to keep Mlodzinski stretched out in case they need another starter before the end of the season. That's understandable in theory; but in practice, it's hurting the roster they actually have right now.

Mlodzinski should be the Pirates’ bullpen anchor. Instead, their current setup leaves them choosing between wasting usable innings or crossing their fingers that his scheduled availability happens to match the game’s biggest moments. For a team trying to navigate a pivotal homestand before the All-Star break, that is self-inflicted waste.

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