The Pirates Handling of Carmen Mlodzinski in 2025 Deserves to be Examined

6-21-25 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on X

There are almost always strange decisions, odd approaches, weird usage type things happening with the Pirates. Sometimes the reason is pretty clear, even if it’s hard to accept, other times, well, there’s just no making sense of them.

So, today, lets go over some of them, and see if we can’t think our way through them. Remember, it’s not about liking the answer you land on as much as feeling like you considered every bit of available information before forming your opinion.

Carmen Mlodzinski

All of it. What the hell are the Pirates doing here right?

I mean, it was clear as day that he was a good reliever, so why did they mess with what was working?

OK, for those of you who don’t know the whole story, let’s start at the beginning. Carmen was available with the Comp pick, essentially a late first round slot, largely due in part to his injury history in college.

Still, in many ways, he was more of a first round talent in 2020 than several pitchers with less pedigree that were taken ahead of him.

It’s important to know this about Carmen Mlodzinski, because if you don’t, and you just “met” him after he was called up to the majors, you probably see him as only the role he started in.

It’s important to know he was selected as a starting pitcher, as many eventual relievers are, just not when they’re drafted in the first round. That first round selection slot, has a lot to do with this attempt to see what he could do.

It’s not the attempt that’s weird, I can make sense of that, and just did. The odd part is the timing.

The Pirates do this in 2023 or 2024, you know, like say after Johan Oviedo was lost, something like that. I mean at that point, Carmen was still working as a starter and more than anything, the team really needed one.

They chose to start him in the pen by way of getting him to the league faster, and it worked great. He performed great.

Now, when they have a seeming overflow of starting pitchers or at least prospects who could deserve a shot, they chose now to give Mlodzinski a crack at starting?

So again, I understand why you’d think he has the talent. I understand why his draft slot would make you feel he has the pedigree. I can make sense of believing in the talent and wanting to get the most out of it you can, and I’ll give them a bit of a pass because the injury to Jared Jones made this play out on the Big League stage.

As I understand it, the Pirates planned to have Carmen start, but in the minors, which still would have taken one of their best bullpen arms out of the equation.

He showed he could do it, he also showed they had some work to do to start feeling it had legs. In many ways, I felt the timing on when they decided to pull the plug was strange. Not that Mike Burrows didn’t deserve a chance, he certainly does, but what I’m saying is what we were seeing from Mlodzinski at least to me said push on, not bail.

Anyway, you then have the GM spouting about how dedicated they all were, including the player, to keep going with this starting thing. He even went so far as to openly say it would be an effort for all of 2025.

A week later, he’s in the Pirates bullpen and Don Kelly is talking about how he’s a Major League arm and the team needs him, no matter the role.

So was this all a mistake? Meaning they shouldn’t have even tried it? Well, it’s not that easy if you ask me.

First, he probably bought them some time on Burrows at least, and Thomas Harrington the other guy the team thought might be ready needed more time too. And this is a bit of a reach admittedly, but having Carmen show his potential to be stretched out, well, it could also make him more valuable, and this team is going to eventually have to deal from this supposed strength.

Point is, there are some good reasons to have gone through this experiment, there are some good reasons to think the timing couldn’t have been worse for actually helping THIS team.

Carmen Mlodzinski is a talented pitcher, and I honestly believe, he COULD start in this league, or he could be a dominant bullpen arm. Both have value, both are possible.

Subscribe to our site, it’s free and all you’ll get from us is a notification when there’s something new to read.

Starter Spotlight: deGrom is Still de Goat!

6-20-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X

Back home after a long day yesterday that ended on a high note and the Pirates will host the Texas Rangers and Jacob deGrom, who makes his first start at PNC Park since a ho-hum dominant performance on September 7, 2022.

After missing most of his first two years with Texas due to needing Tommy John Surgery, deGrom is now all the way back. The newly-minted 37-year old is 6-2 with a 2.19 ERA through 82.1 innings with a 0.91 WHIP, which is very in-line with the career stats for the 2-time Cy Young winner.

deGrom is essentially just throwing two pitches: a high-90s 2-seam and a high-80s slider without a ton of deviation on location as he keeps the heater up and the slider running down and in against lefties – and he makes it work. 

The fastball has been most effective against righties as they are batting just .169 against the pitch compared to .227 when facing the slider. Lefties, however, have had more success against the fastball (.229 batting average) and have been completely overwhelmed by the slider as they are hitting .167 against the pitch and whiffing at a 42.7% clip.

His ERA ranks 6th lowest in MLB with the 8th lowest BAA (.196) but he’s also gotten some luck go his way as his (-1.05) ERA-FIP is the 10th highest differential.

This is mostly bolstered by an 88.5% strand rate, which is significantly above his career norm of 79.7%, but not unsustainable given degrom’s proclivity for strikeouts and avoidance of walks (he is currently the MLB career leader in SO/BB at 5.37).

The series is not an easy matchup and, even if they get past deGrom tonight, the Rangers bullpen has been top 10 in baseball this season in nearly all statistical categories. 

Just do your best today and we can see what happens with the Vandy boys the rest of the series. 

Subscribe to our site, it’s free and all you’ll get from us is a notification when there’s something new to read.

Series Preview : Texas Rangers (36-39) at Pittsburgh Pirates (30-46)

6-20-2025 – By Corey Shrader – @CoreyShrader on X

The Texas Rangers roll in to town this weekend giving Pirates fans a chance to see an extremely talented American League club. Despite their underwhelming 2025 season to date, the Rangers are 6-4 in their last 10 & boast an impressive array of talent. Looking at this Texas team on paper it just goes to show how hard it is to be a good major league baseball team.

Pittsburgh’s woes have been well-documented, but for the sake of this preview, the last 10 games have not been kind to the Bucs. The Pirates last 10 games have seen them go 3-7 even though they boast one of the strongest pitching units in all of Major League Baseball. Bucs pitching has posted the second highest fWAR among all clubs over the last two weeks (2.5). Unfortunately, the pitching has got next to no support from the bats in this timeframe. The lineup sits at a major league worst wOBA, wRC+, ISO, SLG%, & OPS in the same 2-week span of time we’ve seen terrific pitching.

An area where the Pirates could possibly exploit during this three-game set is the inexperience of the game 2 & 3 starters, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker. Of the two, Rocker has been throwing better baseball, but much of the positives in the box score stems from an exemplary 5IP, 4 hit, BB, 6 K outing against the White Sox. In his last two starts, he is showing some of the pitching ability & stuff that made him a big-time prospect with a 3.21 SIERA in his 8.1 IP so far in June.

Leiter has had a much tougher go in June. One stellar outing early this month where he was able to harness his potential (and wildness) saw him pitch 5 innings and allow just 1 run off 3 hits and 1 walk with 6 strikeouts but since then, he has thrown 9.2 innings over two games giving up 10 runs off 13 hits and 6 walks to just 7 strikeouts in those affairs.

The best shot for the Bucs to win this series will more than likely be dependent on how they can handle the young kids on the hill in games 2 & 3. If they are able to make them labor or make them pay early, this series is certainly in play. Granted, game 1 you’ve got to face one of the greatest pitchers of this or any era, Jacob deGrom. Make no mistake, he is not the deGrom of 2015-2019, but he is still a force to be reckoned with.

6/20

Rangers: Jacob deGrom – 82.1 IP, 6-2, 80 K/17 BB, 2.19 ERA, 0.91 WHIP

Pirates: Mike Burrows – 23.1 IP, 1-1, 25 K/7 BB, 4.25 ERA, 1.33 WHIP

6/21

Rangers: Kumar Rocker – 28.1 IP, 2-4, 27 K/8 BB, 7.31 ERA, 1.69 WHIP

Pirates: Mitch Keller – 88.1 IP, 1-9, 68 K/22 BB, 4.08 ERA, 1.25 WHIP

6/22

Rangers: Jack Leiter – 61.1 IP, 4-4, 49 K/30 BB, 4.40 ERA, 1.29 WHIP

Pirates: Bailey Falter (L) – 80 IP, 5-3, 50 K/26 BB, 3.49 ERA, 1.13 WHIP

Rangers: Josh Smith has been putting in work over the last two weeks. 12 runs scored, 2 home runs, slashing .386/.449/.614, with a .458 wOBA & 202 wRC+. It must be mentioned that he as been sidelined for a few games with hamstring soreness. He is expected to return on 6/20. Should shout out that both Marcus Semien & Adolis Garcia have been showing some signs of life after sluggish starts, putting up respective wOBAs of .416 and .362 in this wtimeframe.

Pirates: Mike Burrows is showing fans glimpses of why he was so well regarded prior to his injury. In his last 3 starts he has been the Pirates best starting pitcher. His 15 IP, 1.80 ERA, 1.86 FIP, & 2.50 SIERA, & 27.9 K-BB% are all outstanding marks.

Rangers: Jack Leiter has been struggling to get things going of late. His last two starts in June have seen him without much control of his arsenal. The stuff is huge, but he has a long way to go to get it clicking.

Pirates: Frankly, I could list the entire offense here, but for now we will say Isiah Kiner-Falefa is notably frigid. A truly dismal performance slashing .167/.225/.194, .195 wOBA, 16 wRC+, 0 barrels, 79.5 average EV, 18.2% hard hit, & a 51.6% ground ball rate. Awful.

Rangers: Josh Sborz, Nathan Eovaldi, Tyler Mahle, Cody Bradford, Joc Pederson, Jon Gray

Pirates: Endy Rodriguez, Jared Jones, Enmanuel Valdez, Johan Oviedo, Dauri Moreta, Colin Holderman, Tim Mayza, Justin Lawerence

Notes

  • Game 1 features a pitching matchup that I am super excited about. Every opportunity to watch a healthy Jacob deGrom is a treat for baseball fans. On the home side, Mike Burrows is humming along right now himself. Here are their June stats:

deGrom: 13IP, 1-0, 1.38 ERA, 31.1 K-BB%, 1.14 FIP, 2.12 SIERA

Burrows: 15IP, 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 27.9 K-BB%, 1.86 FIP, 2.50 SIERA

These are two pitchers who are throwing extremely well. One word of warning on Burrows: he has been on the receiving end of extremes in pitching with a .378 BABIP & a 90.4% strand rate this month. These figures are both unsustainable outside of this small sample size as they likely regress to the mean eventually. Regardless, the young man is locked in and should be able to keep the Pirates in this game. They just need to break through on one of the all-time greats to have a shot.

Subscribe to our site, it’s free and all you’ll get from us is a notification when there’s something new to read.

Starter Spotlight: Holton Out Hope

6-19-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X

The Pirates have already dropped 5 of 6 on the road trip but are hoping to avoid being swept in game 2 of the double-header in Detroit, who projects to be another lefty to start in Tyler Holton.

Holton enters play with a 4.09 ERA over 33 innings pitched this season and, although he has started a couple games this season, he’s only maxed out at 2 innings and 35 pitches in games so it’s likely a bullpen game for Detroit.

He has a varied pitch mix and excels at avoiding barrels to induce weak contact though he’s gotten bit by the long-ball this year as he has allowed 6 already after surrendering 7 over 94.1 innings last season.

As indicated above, he relies heavily on his fastballs, mainly dispatching the cutter and changeup against righties and the sinker/sweeper combo against lefties.

He is going to fill up the zone (just 8 walks against 29 strikeouts this season) and will stay low in the zone. Right-handed hitters should look to attack the changeup – against which they are currently batting .320 and slugging .600.

If any lefties face him, they should target the breaking pitches. Hilton’s sinker has an opponent batting average of just .192 compared to .368 against his sweeper with a .421 slugging percentage.

After Holton, it’s a crapshoot as they’re facing a bullpen which ranks among the worst in baseball entering today over the last few weeks (4.97 ERA in June ranks 25th in MLB over that time). 

If there’s any hope of avoiding the sweep, it’s a strong Skenes start and a solid performance against a poor pen. 

Subscribe to our site, it’s free and all you’ll get from us is a notification when there’s something new to read.

Starter Spotlight: Skubal-Dooby Doo!

6-18-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X

After struggling to piece together much against Casey Mize yesterday, the Pirates will have an even tougher challenge today in defending AL Cy Young-winner, Tarik Skubal.

Selected 254 picks after yesterday’s starter in the 2018 MLB Draft, Skubal has been inarguably the best starting pitcher in MLB the past two years.

After missing time due to a flexor tendon injury which was surgically repaired in 2022, Skubal returned in July 2023 and since then has pitched 362.2 innings with a 2.38 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 31.5% K rate – all of which lead MLB in that time.

He swept Cy Young voting last season and finished 7th in AL MVP balloting after posting a 6.4 bWAR season and he has somehow been even better this year as he enters play today with a 7-2 record, 111 strikeouts through 90.1 innings with a 1.99 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP.

Oh, and he has allowed just one run over his last four starts and 30.2 innings pitched with 32 strikeouts and just 2 walks in that time.

So there’s good news and there’s bad news here. The good news is the Pirates only have to face Skubal once. The bad news is: he’s probably going to wreck this lethargic offense. 

Opponents are batting just .196 against Skubal and his pitch mix consists of a high-80s changeup, a high-90s fastball (both a 4-seam and sinker) which has topped 103(!), a high-80s slider and an infrequent low-80s knuckle-curve – all of which grade as average-to-above average offerings and none of which have above a .230 batting average against.

Righties are hitting just .176 against his slider and .177 against his changeup with a 47% whiff rate. Skubal has thrown 385 changeups this season and only two of them resulted in extra-base hits (both doubles) and left-handed hitters are batting a whopping .000 against Skubal’s changeup.

The only real chance the Bucs have of doing anything today is staying on the 4-seam and sinker. Opposing righties are *only* whiffing at a 23.1% rate against his sinker and are batting .247 against his 4-seam – the best marks among any of his offerings for this split.

He tends to work up in the zone with both fastballs and drops down low for the off-speed/breaking balls. His stuff is darn near impossible to pick up and he’s made fools of much more potent offenses than what the Pirates will trot out tonight but stranger things have happened, right?

Right…?

Subscribe to our site, it’s free and all you’ll get from us is a notification when there’s something new to read.

Starter Spotlight: Les Mizerables

6-17-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X

After another series of ineffective offensive output, the Pirates will have at least one day more of strong pitching against as they are facing the Tigers and starter Casey Mize, who enters today with a 6-2 record and a 2.95 ERA through 61 innings pitched.

The former first overall pick in the 2018 MLB draft is looking like he’s finally starting to click after years of injuries and ineffectiveness, manning the barricades for a surging Tigers team that has been rising in the standings like a castle on a cloud.

Although he has been less hot as of late after a scorching start to the season (2.12 ERA over 5 starts in April), the Bucs should not look down on him as Mize has allowed 2 earned runs or less in 8 of his 11 starts this season with 55 strikeouts in that span.

At the end of the day, Mize offers a mid-90s fastball (4-seam/sinker), a splitter and slider both in the high-80s with a low-80s slurve with sharp movement.

He’ll use the 4-seam, sinker and slurve against right-handed hitters with opponents batting .340 against his fastballs in these situations, typically working upstairs with the heat leaving hitters seeing stars as the ball whizzes by them. Lefties have surprisingly struggled more against Mize, batting just .188 against his 4-seam while whiffing on his splitter 40.6% of the time.

Mize has had some very real reverse splits this season as righties have an .811 OPS against him compared to just a .619 OPS for left handed hitters.

But he has also been almost unhittable at Comerica Park as the master of the house with a .222 opponent batting average and 1.54 ERA at home being considerably lower than his away marks of .274 BA and 3.82 ERA.

Where the Tigers play is not a power-hitter park and – maybe fortunately – the Pirates are not a power-hitting team. Look to drive some fastballs to the gaps or drop some hanging breaking balls into shallow outfield. Find ways to get a guy or two on base and bring him home.

Subscribe to our site, it’s free and all you’ll get from us is a notification when there’s something new to read.

Series Preview: Pittsburgh Pirates (29-44) at Detroit Tigers (46-27)

6-17-2025 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on X

These are two teams that couldn’t possibly be on more different planes. Detroit looked poised for another failed rebuild as little as 2 seasons ago. Their top pitching talents annually went down with some kind of major injury, their top pick slugger was sent to AAA and their big free agent signing from years ago Javi Baez was a noose around their necks.

Then last year they went on a magical run to squeak into the playoffs and this year it might take something supernatural to keep them out.

It’s funny how these things can look promising, then devastating, then suddenly like the entire plan was working in the background all along.

That might be inspiring for a fan base like Pittsburgh, except, it rarely works out this way for anyone, and the Tigers probably have a year left with Tarik Skubal before he leaves via Free Agency. The Battle Cats will spend money, a hell of a lot more than the Pirates anyway, but Skubal unless he is completely in love with Detroit will very likely get a monster contract elsewhere.

The Pirates are coming off a weekend series in Chicago where they did everything right, well, when they didn’t have bats in their hands. THE issue that has plagued this club all season is still the issue, this club has to find ways to score runs. That’s going to be a tall task against this Detroit club.

And spoiler alert, I’m kinda sad as a baseball fan we’ll miss Skenes vs Skubal, these are arguably the 2 best pitchers in the game right now and they’ll miss each other by a day.

6/17

Pirates: Bailey Falter (L) | 5-3 | 3.36 ERA | 75 IP | 46 K | 25 BB | 1.12 WHIP

Tigers: Casey Mize | 6-2 | 2.95 ERA | 61 IP | 55 K | 18 BB | 1.28 WHIP

6/18

Pirates: Andrew Heaney (L) | 3-5 | 3.33 ERA | 78.1 IP | 59 K | 24 BB | 1.11 WHIP

Tigers: Tarik Skubal (L) | 7-2 | 1.99 ERA | 90.1 IP | 111 K | 9 BB | 0.81 WHIP

6/19

Pirates: Paul Skenes | 4-6 | 1.78 ERA | 96 IP | 97 K | 22 BB | 0.85 WHIP

Tigers: TBA

Pirates: I’m not exactly spoiled for choice here. Andrew McCutchen in his last 7 games is hitting .345 and for him, this is rare, his OBP is exactly the same, .345. He’s done all of that with his bat, no Walks. Slugging .621 in that span too. There’s no taking away what Cutch has done, but again, his competition for this category is nil.

Tigers: Javier Baez, and yes, it pains me to type it. My dislike for Baez goes back to him wearing a Cubs uniform and I was absolutely fine with him being awful in Detroit. Welp, not in 2025. His last 15 games he’s hitting .280, and getting on base at a .321 clip. He still strikes out a lot, but he’s changed a bit from his swing for the fences all the time, every pitch approach and it’s working for him.

Pirates: Isiah Kiner-Falefa first things first, I could have chosen almost anyone, the offense has been cold as a whole. I chose to focus on IKF because this was a guy who was hitting over .300 just a couple weeks ago, and in his last 15 games, he’s hitting .239, with an OBP of .294. In part, this is just to say his .284 average belies how he’s been hitting lately, and I think we’ll see Don Kelly give Jared Triolo a start at SS somewhere in there this series.

Tigers: Kerry Carpenter has been overall very good, but much like IKF, he’s had a rough couple week stretch. In his last 15 games he’s hitting .196 with a .213 OBP. He has hit 3 dingers in that time, but it’s been very all or nothing lately. This series will likely be tough for him with the Pirates starting 2 lefties and Skenes.

Pirates: Endy Rodriguez is having a shot in his elbow and has been transferred to the 60-day IL. Nobody will say it publicly, but I don’t think there is much expectation he’ll return this season, and there has to be concern about his future behind the dish. Joey Bart will likely return from the IL today.

Johan Oviedo threw a live BP in Bradenton on June 3rd, he’s scheduled to go again in the next couple days. He reached 94 with his fastball in that session and is expected to increase that in this go. The plan is to move into sim games and rehab after that. His return is still a bit off in the distance.

Colin Holderman is progressing to long toss after a positive response to the cortisone shots he had back in May.

Tim Mayza should be cleared to start throwing recovering from left shoulder lat muscle strain

Tigers: Will Vest is dealing with some kind of Pinky injury, considered day to day. Matt Vierling started a rehab assignment, and it’s plausible he could be back during this series.

Notes

  • The Pirates will struggle to get the bats going against this club, the Tigers may not have announced their starter for the Thursday contest, but their first two hurlers are enough to make you feel another low scoring series could be in store.
  • Good Luck. Paul Skenes famously said these words when asked about the league scouting him, well, this series will bring this sentiment into play for Tarik Skubal too. Some pitchers get to the point where the best they have is completely unhittable, that’s these two guys.
  • The outfield in Detroit is large, so look for Oneil Cruz to patrol a bit larger piece of real estate than he typically does. We saw him in Chicago almost all the way in straight away right field calling for a ball that was clearly Alexander Canario‘s to get, but the Pirates will need that range in this series.
  • Andrew McCutchen has 2,209 hits. His next one will tie Willie Randolph, two and he ties Willie McCovey. Four, he’ll tie the great Joe DiMaggio. It’s entirely feasible he does that in this series. As of right now, only 188 players have collected more hits than Andrew McCutchen.

Subscribe to our site, it’s free and all you’ll get from us is a notification when there’s something new to read.

Gary’s Five Pirates Thoughts – There’s Just Not Enough There

6-16-25 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on X

Something happened this weekend, and I mean beyond the 1-3 record in the series against the Cubs in Chicago. This team played about as good as they can and still lost 3 of 4. The pitching held down a very good offense, the offense did the next to nothing they always do.

Even a league average offense splits that series, bottom line, there just isn’t enough. This isn’t some revelation I’m just coming to of course, but it was a very in your face example of what this team playing some of it’s best ball against one of the better teams and what that nets.

Lets Go!

1. A Reynolds Reset is Coming

One way or another, Bryan Reynolds and his struggling bat is going to sit for a minute. He’s struggling mightily, and yet, he’s still got to play because he’s still one of the team’s best bets to hit one out. Plus he has a track record.

He and his wife will be bringing their new son into the world very soon and this trip to the Paternity List, well, it could be the type of reset Bryan needs to really get his mojo back. And let’s be clear, this team doesn’t have enough offense to ever get their offense going until Bryan Reynolds does.

Reynolds is the type of offensive player you can pretty much set your watch by. You usually know what you’re going to get, and that includes his struggles when his wife is with child.  

It’s been turned into a joke, but his track record shows it. All 3 times he’s struggled offensively until after the kiddo arrives. Just like I can tell you most years he’s going to be mediocre in May and get hot in June, I can tell you this happens.

Even if it’s just a dumb fan take, he needs to start fresh and this time off will afford him that before we get to the All Star Game.

I like his right handed swing right now, and the thing is, you can tell he does too, it is his natural side after all, but usually, he translates what he does on one side that he gets locked in and is able to use it to help him on the other side.

I can blame Ben Cherington for a lot of things, and do, regularly, but one thing I can’t blame him for is expecting to get a lot more from Reynolds than he has. It wouldn’t have this team 5 games over .500, but Bryan being Bryan could easily make more of these 1 run losses turn into wins.

Here’s hoping Bryan’s upcoming step away from the game is also his get right moment.

2. Is “Donnie Ball” the Same as Small Ball?

I mean, I don’t think so.

It probably should based on the roster they employ, but I just don’t think the approaches I’m seeing from most of the lineup feel like a small ball approach is being used.

Far too many big swings with 2 strikes, and from guys who probably couldn’t hit one out even if they connected for me to believe it’s an overriding ethos.

I think what “Donnie Ball” really is, is a nothing is off the table approach to offense. Bunts, double steals, directional hitting, that sort of stuff, but the way this lineup approaches a simple situation like a runner on 3rd with less than 2 outs, well, it’s been puke in your mouth stuff for just about 5 years now.

The guys who seem to know what is needed in those situations, well, they pretty much approach every at bat in the same way. Isiah Kiner-Falefa is a great example, if you need a bunt he can deliver it, if you need a fly ball, he’ll get one, if you need contact of any kind because the only thing you can’t do is strike out, he’ll likely deliver that too.

Who else you got?

Adam Frazier? Maybe.

One thing, this team is the absolute worst team in baseball when it comes to hitting behind in the count. When the Pirates are behind in the count, they’re hitting .172 as a team, and yet time after time what do we see them do, yup, take strike one right down the pipe.

Ahead in the count, the Pirates are 17th, .276.

Don’t get me wrong, you aren’t always going to be able to work your way into a hitters count, that too isn’t an approach, but when the book on you is pretty clear, meaning you’re likely going to take a pitch regardless of where it’s thrown, guess what’s going to happen.

The truth is, Donnie Ball is pretty simple, pitch well, hit good enough. It’s worked for Don a lot more than it ever worked for Shelton, but there also hasn’t been some wide ranging approach change at the plate. They have pitched better, but that was already kinda starting to happen under Shelton as the bullpen started to come together.

I guess what I’m saying is, Don has gotten this team to stop killing themselves with self inflicted wounds, and that more than anything else is probably how I at this moment define Donnie Ball.

It’s enough to get from the talent what they’re capable of, it’s not enough to get runs out of a rock.

3. Let’s Do an All Time Ben Cherington Starting Lineup & Rotation

Before I start, the roster right now SHOULD be the product of every move Cherington has made since he got here. Ideally, you’d do something like this and probably come up with 75% of your answers being from the current roster, as I write this, I truly don’t know where I’ll land on all that, but my gut says if I get to 50% I’ll surprise myself. The rules are, the player played here under Ben Cherington, period. Not that he brought them here, just that he oversaw the team while they were here.

Fielders
CF – Oneil Cruz
C – Jacob Stallings
LF – Bryan Reynolds
DH – Andrew McCutchen
2B – Adam Frazier
3B – Ke’Bryan Hayes
1B – Carlos Santana
RF – Jack Suwinski
SS – Kevin Newman

Rotation
Joe Musgrove
Mitch Keller
Paul Skenes
Bailey Falter
Tyler Anderson

Some of these names are shocking, I know, but hard as I try, these are the answers I come up with. And it’s not about what these players currently are, it’s about what they were when they were here and more importantly, what they haven’t competently filled in the entire time Ben has been here.

On the rotation, it’s hard to argue any of these if you ask me. And 3 of the 5 are here right now.
On the fielders, Kevin Newman was a hard choice. He was a very good fielder and had a couple seasons where he hit better than anyone not named IKF. I also couldn’t give Cruz two spots, since I gave him CF, SS had to go to someone else.

Catcher is another tough one, but Stallings was probably the best combination they’ve had of defense and the ability to chip in on offense a bit.

Jack is on there because of the two seasons he hit a bunch of homeruns. His competition is Polanco, and really that’s the list.

Can I be real? I don’t really think this lineup of players or rotation is better than what they have today. Which means in his entire tenure, even if he kept everything “good” is a .500 ish team at best.

Time to go Ben, for yet another reason.

4. Try Something!

The Pirates aren’t just going to wake up one day and hit.

OK? Can we all accept that? Sure, Oneil Cruz will get hot, Bryan Reynolds will turn things around, but as a whole, this offense isn’t exactly going to take a leap with this current set up.

What I’m going to suggest probably won’t either, but when your pitching staff gives up 9 runs in 4 games and you lose 3 of them, c’mon, you have to do something, even if it’s grasping at straws.

Step 1 – Cut Tommy Pham. Today. There’s nothing there, there’s not going to be anything there and all this is doing at this point is giving you a roster spot your coach barely wants to use, which is a lot different than having a bank of starters that require you roll them out day after day.

Step 2 – Call Up Jack Suwinski. Nope, he’s not fixed his issues. He still strikes out way too much and he’ll continue to do so up here. He also hits homeruns, and this team needs the power, like really bad. Hit him 7th or 8th, take the odd bombs he hits and do better this offseason unless he really turns it around.

I go this route because Jack and Canario would make a better platoon. Jack has a proven glove so you won’t lose much by dropping Pham, and honestly, they need the power so bad it’s time to ignore the warts and just let it play out.

How much worse can it get right?

I know some of you will prefer Cook or Yorke, or Gorski, but honestly, Jack is your best bet at the missing element, POWER.

More than anything, I’m kinda tired of the 3 guys this team uses in LF and I know for damn sure I have a better chance of getting some offense in bursts using Jack than I do using anyone currently here, least which Pham to get anything close.

Worst case scenario, you can completely wash your hands of Jack for good if it doesn’t work. The last thing I want to see is come into Spring with him as an option who just spent almost all of 2025 in the minors.

5. What Can a New GM Do to Make 2026 Different?

Realistically. I could go off here on how much more money they should spend and that’s definitely part of it.

The current payroll is at 93.6 Million. I know, probably not the number you’ve been rolling with, but it’s right. It could and probably will go down when they trade people at the deadline, and it’ll go up when they call up more guys. Every transaction causes this running tab to move in some way. Even silly things like having 5-6 guys on the 60-day IL, because the “Active” payroll, is much less than the overall payroll.

Dispute the number if you must, I won’t fight you, but at the end of the year in December when the Forbes payroll figures come out, you’ll see.

So spend more, yup. But stop with the “magic” number of 100 Million. They need and will increase this next year, some naturally by Keller and Reynolds costing more contractually. Cruz entering Arbitration along with others like Santana, Bednar, Falter, Bart, the point is before they spend a dime in free agency or absorb a contract from a trade, it’s already going to be just about where they are if not a bit higher.

I figure we’re looking at whoever the GM is having about 20-25 million to spend. That’s on top of where I already said they’d be so we’re likely looking at 30ish million in new spending.

OK, So for not wanting to deal with money, I went ahead and dealt with money.

I don’t think the team will HAVE to get a veteran pitcher. Depending on what they trade of course. If they move say, Keller, you might have to think about bringing in a vet on a 1 year deal like they’ve done just about every year. BUT, I don’t think they have to spend dollars here.

Cutch will likely come back and guess what, he’ll likely take 5 Million again because he’s a saint.

They’ll need a Left Fielder for sure and while they have options at SS, it would be wise to bring in a vet there too, even a Paul DeJong type could make sense.

Left field is where you spend the bulk of this money if you ask me.

The big names are Kyle Tucker (estimated to get upwards of 35-40 million a year) and Kyle Schwarber, who could probably command 25 per. I find it hard to believe the Phillies will let Schwarber go, and Tucker, listen, I don’t have that kind of pixie dust to talk myself into it being a possibility.

Outside of those two, it’s not impressive. Yastrzemski, Mullins, Thomas, maybe another run at Verdugo? I’m not sure any of those guys are difference makers, but they’re all 10-15 million dollar players, well within the budget, but I’m not sure they fix a whole lot either. None of those guys are homerun hitters really. Trent Grisham is a sleeper that might really help. Has power, and probably set to have his best power year in 2025. Might be able to add him and that would help.

The most effective way to go might be in a trade. Move pitching for offense, and there are some teams you could look to, many of which we’ve all been screaming about for over a year already.

The Orioles for sure, and Boston just made a gigantic move that changes their chemistry a bit so we’ll have to see how that fit evolves. Regardless, this team needs to find a date, instead of just standing in the corner of the dance hall watching all the kids have fun for once.

There is a path. There is more money. There is a decent base here, complete with the absolute hardest thing to build, pitching.

What’s left is to actually attack the problem and stop hugging guys that did something good at one point praying they will again for way less than most productive players cost.

This won’t be an easy job. It wasn’t for Cherington either to be entirely fair to him. But I do believe a different set of eyes with less allegiance to the idea it can be entirely built here is what’s required for the next step.

Subscribe to our site, it’s free and all you’ll get from us is a notification when there’s something new to read.

Starter Spotlight: Should We Colin The Rea-inforcements?

6-15-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X

Is it time for the calvary to arrive? Do we even have a calvary? After scoring just 5 runs in the first 3 games, the Pirates need to dig deep and find a way to break out some more offense with Mitch Keller on the bump opposing Cubs starter, Colin Rea.

Rea pitched 6 innings of 2-run ball against the Bucs on May 1, but hasn’t had much success since that game.

After posting a 1.46 ERA through his first 24.2 innings (including his start against the Pirates, he has pitched 37.1 innings with a 5.54 ERA since then as regression has hit Rea hard.

While he saw a bound back in velocity during his last start versus the Phillies, he has shown a gradual decrease over the past few weeks with his fastball maxing out about 1.5 MPH lower than previously.

As we discussed previously, Rea has seven distinct pitches but mostly leans on his low-90s fastball with deviation among his secondaries depending on opposing hitters.

He’ll use the fastball/slider mix against righties and fastball/curve/splitter against lefties, who are batting .338 and slugging .559 against Rea’s fastball, and 7 of his 9 home runs overall have come against the heater.

If the team isn’t going to bring in additional troops for battle, then the guys that are here will need to find ways to scratch and claw through the game. Lefties, in particular, have an .855 OPS against Rea at Wrigley (compared to .709 for righties) so stack them in the lineup, attack the heater and net a series split in Chicago.

Starter Spotlight: Boy, Oh Boyd!

6-14-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X

Pittsburgh managed to squeak out an extra-innings victory against the Cubbies and will try to get another win today facing lefty veteran Matthew Boyd for the 2nd time this year.

The journeyman southpaw is in his 11th MLB season and, so far, is playing some of his best baseball yet. He’s started 13 games for the Cubs, compiling a 2.89 ERA and 1.23 WHIP over 74.2 innings of work.

He last faced the Pirates on April 30th, allowing 2 runs over 5 innings of work (previously covered here) where he displayed his trademark sidearm delivery, his fastball/changeup/slider/curve repertoire and a propensity for walks (3).

Surprisingly, the walks have greatly diminished since then as, after issuing 13 free passes in his first six games, Boyd has allowed just 5 walks in his last seven games with 40 strikeouts across six quality starts and a 3.05 ERA over that stretch.

Working in the zone more has been beneficial for Boyd, obviously, but he’s increased his changeup, which is getting more whiffs, while mixing and matching his curve/slider depending on opponent matchups.

Last time around, the Pirates had a 46% whiff rate against Boyd’s changeup and 67% against his slider so expect some BAD looking swings-and-misses for this Pirates team again today but if they can connect on his fastball, the Bucs have shown the ability to do damage against Boyd.

Oneil Cruz walked and doubled against Boyd last time around and Andrew McCutchen is 3-for-10 with a home run in his career against the veteran lefty. If the Pirates can find a way to limit strikeouts and get the ball in play, they should have a path to victory today.