The Pittsburgh Pirates have reinstated pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski from the restricted list as he rejoins the team as a relief pitcher on their road trip in Houston.
Following the return of Jared Jones from the 60-day injured list, Mlodzinski was informed that he would be removed from the starting pitching rotation. In a post-game locker room interview on Thursday last week, Mlodzinski was noticeably upset at the decision to bump him back to the bullpen.
“Obviously, just excited to have Jared back with
us,” Mlodzinski said. “I can honestly say I’m just still communicating with the organization and the people in my corner, whether that’s my family or my agency, about what is next. I really don’t have any comments after that.”
Mlodzinski was then placed on the restricted list on Sunday, citing that he did not feel physically or mentally prepared after hearing the news of losing his spot in the rotation. The 27-year-old pitcher did not request a trade, but the move to sit out Sunday’s game was something that General Manager Ben Cherington anticipated.
“Carmen informed us this morning (Sunday) that he was not ready to pitch today,” Cherington said. “So, we made the decision to place him on the restricted list for today. 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.”
After a brief stint on the restricted list Mlodzinski appears ready and willing to embrace his new role on the Pirates as a strong reliever.
“I wanna do what’s best to help us win baseball games,” Mlodzinski said. “Being around these guys, this team, it’s a pretty cool group to be a part of. Of course I want to start and will always want that, but winning games takes precedence.”
Cherington also commented on the strength that Mlodzinski can bring to the team in relief appearances.
“I believe we’ve made a lot of progress with him around what his role was gonna be and how we can work with him in that role to help the team win,” Cherington said.
Given the way he started the season Mlodzinksi has every reason to be upset at the decision the organization made to boot him from the rotation. This has been by far his best start to a season as a starter as he has a 4-3 record with a 3.76 ERA in nine starts. He’s also only given up just three homers this year while striking out 46. Obviously it wasn’t a matter of performance, but the writing has been on the wall all season; as soon Jones was healthy enough to return Mlodzinski figured to be the odd man out.
Unfortunately for Mlodzinski his stats couldn’t sway the decision of management when it came to the final cut. If it were strictly about numbers, one would figure Bubba Chandler would be the one getting sent to the bullpen after a shaky start to the 2026 season. However, the experience that Mlodzinski has as a reliever and the struggles the bullpen has had makes him the clear best choice to help the team win.
Mlodzinski has spent the majority of his MLB career as a relief pitcher and the current bullpen needs plenty of help. With that being said it sounds like Mlodzinski will be used at extended periods in games, with Jason Mackey reporting that manager Don Kelly said he would serve as a “high-leverage bulk reliever”, likely pitching multiple innings behind the starters. The bullpen has struggled mightily in the middle innings of games this year, but Mlodzinski slides into that role as someone who could pitch multiple innings and even close out a game with his improved pitch mix.
The Pirates will take on the Houston Astros in Houston in a three-game series and Mlodzinski figures to be ready to rock if called upon.
“If they called on me Tuesday, if they need me to do that, I would be willing to do whatever they’re asking,” Mlodzinski said. “That kind of sums it up for me, honestly.”
