Pirates Reliever Testing Waters as Starting Pitcher Again

Mlodzinski went into Spring Training last season wanting to be a starting pitcher after excelling out of the bullpen and earned the fifth spot for the rotation to start the season, following Jones' UCL injury to his story.

He had started in his professional career up until his time with Double-A Altoona in 2022, where he transitioned to a bullpen role.

He made nine starts for the Pirates early on, finishing with a 1-4 record, a 5.67 ERA over 39.2 innings pitched, 28 strikeouts to 12 walks and a .311 batting average allowed.

Mlodzinski would normally excel through the first time facing a batting order, but then struggled the second and third times through the lineup.

This occurred in his first start on the road vs. the Tampa Bay Rays on March 31, where he had three scoreless innings and then allowed four runs in the fourth inning before leaving the game.

He did have good outings, including his second start against the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park on April 7, as he allowed one earned run over five innings, while posting a season-high six strikeouts for his only win on the season. He also allowed no runs over a season-high 5.2 innings pitched against the Atlanta Braves at home on May 11.

The Pirates would option Mlodzinksi to Indianapolis on May 21 and then eventually brought him back on June 11, when he assumed a bullpen role for most of the season.

Mlodzinski had better success out of the bullpen in 2025, serving as an important part of the pitching staff that was one of the best in baseball.

Should the Pirates Make Mlodzinski a Starter Again?

Mlodzinski did end up making three more starts in 2025, where he pitched four innings, three innings and then two innings.

Pirates manager had Ashcraft come in after him in the 4-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Aug. 17, then Chandler the next two times vs. the Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Aug. 27, a 2-1 win, plus vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers at home on Sept. 2, a 9-7 victory.

There's a way that could work with Mlodzinski if he's the starter, but doesn't go far, and the Pirates have someone else "piggyback" off of him like Ashcraft and Chandler did last season.

Mlodzinski is much more suited for the bullpen and he's had more success there over the years, which is where he'll likely end up towards the end of the campaign.

If he is in the starting rotation early on, the piggybacking method would work the best for him and the Pirates.