Pirates Teammates React to Bubba Chandler Promotion

Pirates right-handed starting pitcher Johan Oviedo just recently returned to the team after two starts at Indianapolis and got the chance to meet Chandler during that time. He also spent time with him after his final rehab assignment and before his first callup to the MLB this season on Aug. 4.

Oviedo never wanted to have a spot in the bullpen, always as a starting pitcher, but there are benefits for players coming in to come in later in games. He thinks that Chandler will thrive in that environment, as long as he takes advantage of it.

"My first experience was actually as a starter. After a couple years, I was in the pen and definitely, as a starting pitcher, that's not where you want to be, but you have to do what whatever a team wants you to do," Oviedo said.

"You have to learn how to keep yourself in the game and have a spot on the team. But definitely, it will be a great opportunity for him to get to know the league. There's a lot of really good guys in the pen that will help him out, to make him that he's at home, it's just another day. Hopefully he can embrace that."

Ashcraft has done well in that bulk reliever role this season, with a 3-2 record, a 3.02 ERA over 41.2 innings pitched, 37 strikeouts to 13 walks, a .248 opposing batting average and a 1.27 WHIP.

He threw three innings of scoreless relief in his MLB debut vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on May 26, closed out a big win over the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park on June 8 and has performed whatever Pirates manager Don Kelly has needed out of him.

Taking on the role of a bullpen pitcher after spending years as a starting pitcher in the minor leagues isn't easy, but Ashcraft took that opportunity and realized it made him a stronger pitcher overall

Ashcraft wants to serve as someone that Chandler can come to for anything and that he's confident he'll excel in the major leagues.

"I've had conversations with a couple of guys in here. For me, I can't speak for Bubba specifically, but for me, I think it made me a better pitcher and will continue to make me a better pitcher because it's different. You grow doing one thing your entire life and the game kind of falls into some sort of monotony. Having someone like that where you're forced to be in a different role, something that's unfamiliar, you respond one of two ways. You either compete your tail off or you don't. Knowing Bubba, the person that he is, he's an unbelievable competitor. I have no doubt in my mind that it will be good for him.

"Granted, nobody's path has been linear to the big leagues. Everybody's path has been different. Fortunately, we have a relationship where I'm excited to be somebody he can lean on in that transition, knowing that his situation is a lot different than mine was. But just in terms of amending your routine into being something that can work out of the bullpen for however many times it is out of the bullpen. I doubt it's going to be very many, but it's definitely an adjustment. One thing for me that really helped was leaning on the guys around me, and Bubba does a really good job at that. Has since I've met him. It's certainly going to be different, but I have no doubt in my mind that he's going to be really daggone good."

Chandler not only joins Ashcraft and Oviedo in the Pirates pitching corps, but also fellow right-handed rookie Mike Burrows, other right-handers in All-Star Paul Skenes and veteran Mitch Keller, plus Jared Jones, who will return next season, and former Indianapolis teammate in left-hander Hunter Barco, who will likely come up to Pittsburgh in 2026.

Ashcraft is thrilled that more of his teammates from the minor leagues are now in Pittsburgh and that he sees this group as one that will bring success in the coming years.

"I think during the last couple springs through the last couple years, we've all kind of leaned on each other to help each other with the way that we pitch, the way we go about our work and how to be professional baseball players. So yeah, it's fun to see everybody get here to the big leagues for the most part, excluding a few guys for now. It's a cool thing to be able to step into a clubhouse knowing you're going to be with guys who helped you get to this point directly. Just excited for what next year, the following years after that have to bring to us and to Pittsburgh."