Reports of Carmen Mlodzinski's Pirates future after first spring outing are bad news

The Pittsburgh Pirates were able to win their opening spring training game against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday by a score of 10-5. Carmen Mlodzinski started the game for the Bucs and lasted two innings.

Although he has been a reliever for the Pirates in back-to-back seasons, he still got the start and is reportedly working on building volume to transition to such a role.

Mlodzinski has a background of a starting pitcher, most recently coming in 2022 with the Altoona Curve. He struggled then, so the Pirates transitioned him to a reliever and he finished that season strong with Indianapolis out of the bullpen.

That led to his promotion in 2023, where he posted an 2.25 ERA and 1.28 WHIP. He followed that with success in 2024, producing a 3.38 ERA, 3.36 FIP, and 1.18 WHIP. So why would they switch him, especially when the starting rotation is the biggest strength?

What are the negatives about the Pirates transitioning Carmen Mlodzinski into a starting pitcher?

First of all, Mlodzinski battled injuries all last season, which put him on the injured list twice, including during spring training, delaying the start of his season. That set him back and he was able to catch back up eventually, but we saw a similar issue happen to David Bednar in 2024.

So, with all that in mind, it seems very risky to try to have him throw even more innings, especially at the very start of spring training. Health is very important for the 2025 Pirates, and to play around with a pitcher like that is not a great idea.

Additionally, this may mean the Pirates intend to keep Bubba Chandler in Triple-A to start the season. Given what Chandler has proven in the minor leagues, he should be given the same chance that Jared Jones got in 2024. Same goes for Thomas Harrington and Braxton Ashcraft, but Chandler is a bit ahead of them.

The last negative is with Johan Oviedo. No one expects him to be a starter at this point, but if the Pirates fill the need to build up another starter, even after signing Andrew Heaney, that may be a bad sign about his health moving forward (or, at least what the team might be projecting).

Overall, Pirates desperately need a better bullpen in 2025, and getting Mlodzinski to be a main contributor is key. Pushing him into a starter seems like a very bad decision, for multiple reasons, but we will see down the road if the Pirates management is on to something here.