Pirates Place Carmen Mlodzinski On Restricted List

In an unexpected move, the Pirates placed right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski on the team’s restricted list today.  Righty Cam Sanders was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis to take Mlodzinski’s spot on the active roster, and Pittsburgh now has an open spot on its 40-man roster.

As a reminder, players aren’t paid for any time spent on the restricted list, nor do they receive any MLB service time.  Clubs usually use the restricted list for players who are suspended, or are dealing with a personal issue that keeps them away from the team for an undetermined period of time.  Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Mlodzinski is expected to be available on Tuesday, so it will be just a short absence for the righty.

The reasons for the placement were revealed today by Pirates GM Ben Cherington, who told Beazley and other reporters that Mlodzinski “wasn’t ready to” pitch on Sunday.  “Going into the weekend, we understood and communicated with Carmen that at some point this weekend we were going to need him to be ready or we’d have to replace him on the team in fairness to the team, so that’s what happened today.”

The issue seems to stem from the Pirates’ decision to remove Mlodzinski from the rotation when Jared Jones made his return from the 60-day injured list on Friday.  Jones joins Paul Skenes, Braxton Ashcraft, Mitch Keller, and Bubba Chandler in the starting five, leaving Mlodzinski as the odd man out.  As Beazley noted, Mlodzinski was open about his disappointment while speaking with the media on Thursday, and Mlodzinski has been vocal in the past about preferring to work as a starting pitcher.

Mlodzinski said Thursday that he is “still communicating with the organization and the people in my corner, whether that’s my family or my agency, about what is next,” but Cherington said today that the right-hander hadn’t requested a trade.  The Pirates control Mlodzinski through the 2029 season, as the right-hander won’t reach arbitration eligibility until the coming offseason.

Over 55 innings this season, Mlodzinski has posted a 3.76 ERA in 11 games — nine proper starts and two bulk-pitcher outings working behind an opener.  Mlodzinski’s 8.4% walk rate is around league average but he isn’t missing many bats and he is allowing a ton of hard contact.  The right-hander’s 50.9% hard-hit ball rate sits only in the second percentile of all pitchers.  Still, Mlodzinski’s SIERA is only 4.21, as he has done a good job of limiting the damage of all that hard contact by allowing only three home runs.

A case can be made that Mlodzinski could’ve or should’ve retained a rotation spot over Bubba Chandler, as Chandler has struggled badly with his control while posting a 4.85 ERA across 52 innings.  Since Mlodzinski has more experience as a swingman or long reliever, however, the Pirates opted to use that flexibility by moving him into a relief role, with the knowledge that Mlodzinski would likely have an easier time than Chandler in shifting back to a starting gig down the road.

It is understandable why Mlodzinski isn’t happy with the move, but his impending return on Tuesday probably means there aren’t too many hard feelings.  Without much leverage in trade demands, Mlodzinski may simply have to move forward as a reliever for the time being, though obviously any number of circumstances (injuries, more struggles from Chandler, etc.) could open up a rotation spot in the future.  Having a de facto sixth starter on the roster is also a good way for the Pirates to help keep the entire rotation fresh for what the team hopes will be a push towards a playoff spot.