Carmen

Mlodzinski

Mlodzinski came on with the Pirates leading 5-0 in the sixth inning. He served up a leadoff homer to Isaac Paredes, then went on to shut the Astros out on three hits the rest of the way while punching out three. The 27-year-old right-hander has said the right things since returning from his brief stay on the restricted list, but unless he finds his way back into the rotation it ultimately feels like he could be on the move before the trade deadline.

Mlodzinski will rejoin the Pirates for Tuesday’s series opener against the Astros following a one-game stint on the restricted list. The 27-year-old has expressed a willingness to pitch in relief after being removed from Pittsburgh’s rotation last week. “I want to do what’s best to help us win baseball games,” Mlodzinski told MLB.com on Monday. He also added that he never requested a trade. There doesn’t appear to be any sort of controversy here.

Wow. Mlodzinski voiced his displeasure about being bumped from the Pirates’ rotation to make room for the return of Jared Jones on Friday. Now it appears that the two sides are at an impasse. Expect the trade chatter around Mlodzinski to pick up over the coming days.

Carmen Mlodzinski will be demoted to the bullpen. Jones has a 2.89 ERA in five rehab starts throughout the minor leagues, striking out 24 in 18 2/3 innings in coming back from internal brace surgery on his elbow ligament. He draws a tasty assignment against a struggling Twins lineup, but isn’t a must-start in his first game back as he’s only gotten up to 76 pitches so far and there’s no guarantee he’ll go long enough to qualify for a win. Either way, he should be rostered in most leagues based on the potential he showed last season before the elbow injury.

The run came on a Michael Busch homer in the fifth. Mlodzinski allowed five hits, walked three and struck out two. He’s given up a total of five runs in his last four starts, even though he’s struck out only six in 21 innings over the span. Although he’s been very solid with his 3.76 ERA, there is a chance he’ll be sent to the pen to make room for Jared Jones. As is, he’s due to make his next start this weekend against the Twins.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said that Jones would make “at least one” more start, but he is eligible to come off the injured list on May 25th. He threw only 52 pitches in his last outing, so the team would likely try to push him closer to 65 on Saturday, and then he could return with a pitch count around 75 pitches. However, it doesn’t seem like the Pirates feel they have to rush him back. His return could depend on how he pitches on Saturday and how other Pirates starters, like Carmen Mlodzinski, look over the weekend. Regardless, we’re only one or two weeks away from Jones returning, so now is the time to stash him in fantasy leagues.

Mlodzinski continues to be effective with his splitter heavy repertoire. That was his primary pitch here against the Cardinals’ left-handed heavy lineup and while his command of it wasn’t necessarily great, they still chased a solid chunk of them and never squared one up. Besides that, he spotted his fastball well and wasn’t afraid to work hitters inside with it. All in all, it was a fine start and pushed him down to a 3.96 ERA on the season to go along with 44 strikeouts and 17 walks across 50 innings. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the Cubs and Twins.

The strikeout total was low (two), the walk total was high (three), but the Rockies on the road were able to help Mlodzinski coast after he followed Mason Montgomery and Evan Sisk. The 1.44 seasonal WHIP tells the tale -- Mlodzinski streams are terrifying events, and he needed a pair of double plays to keep the run total this low. He’ll get the Cardinals next time out.

Mlodzinski got the job done, but that he allowed 11 hard-hit balls and generated whiffs on just three of 33 swings while striking out one was pretty discouraging. He fell to 2-3 with a 4.50 ERA through 40 innings. There’s a good chance he’ll wind up back in the pen at some point before the season is out, but he’ll definitely keep starting for now and he’s got a very tasty matchup at home next week against the Rockies.

Mlodzinski surrendered two runs in the first inning on a walk and two doubles. A solo homer by Will Benson brought in a third run before he stranded the bases loaded in the second inning. Mlodzinski tossed a clean third, striking out the side. He gave up one run on two hits in the fifth and left with a runner on and two outs in the sixth. The inherited runner would come in to score. Mlodzinski struck out ten on 17 whiffs. The 27-year-old right-hander will carry a 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, and a 40/13 K/BB ratio across 34 innings into a start against the Giants in San Francisco next Friday.