Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Carmen Mlodzinski

Carmen Mlodzinski Getting Stretched Out As Starter In Camp

By | at

Pirates right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski is getting stretched out as a starter this spring, he tells Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. That seems to be a consistent position for him, as general manager Ben Cherington tells Hiles that the righty has broached the subject before.

“I think from the time he first pitched out of the bullpen for us, literally from that day, he’s been pretty consistent in his communication with us that, ‘I’ll do whatever it takes to help the team, and I don’t want to give up on starting,’” Cherington said. “We encourage that. Open communication. He’s taken advantage of the forums he’s had to continue to express interest in that in a really professional, thoughtful way. We agreed at the beginning of last season that we heard him, and we felt like we were going to ask him to pitch in the ’pen for now.

“We see examples all over the game of guys doing that and going back to the rotation at some point in the future. So at the end of the season, we had a chance to sit down again and agreed that it made sense for him to put himself in a position this offseason, give himself a chance to be a starter. We agreed that we’d get his volume built in spring training to some point, probably at least three innings, and then we’ll assess and see where we are. Just continue that communication with him.”

Mlodzinki, now 26, was drafted in 2020. He spent 2021 and 2022 working primarily as a starter in the minors. In the second of those two seasons, he logged a 4.78 earned run average in 105 1/3 innings at the Double-A level.

Since then, he’s mostly been in a relief role, which has includes some big league success. He has 86 2/3 innings under his belt at this point with a 2.91 ERA. That includes five “starts”, though those were opener outings, none longer than two innings. His 22.2% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate are each a bit shy of average for a reliever, though his 46.7% ground ball rate is strong. He has one save and 16 holds.

Despite the decent bullpen results, Mlodzinski hasn’t given up on the dream of being a starter. It’s not uncommon these days for a guy with some relief success to try stretching out. It doesn’t always work but some success stories includes Garrett Crochet, Seth Lugo and Reynaldo López.

Mlodzinski has thrown six pitches in his major league career, according to Statcast: a four-seamer, slider, cutter, sweeper, changeup and sinker. He also has fairly neutral splits. Righties have hit .222/.312/.324 against him with lefties actually posting a worse line of .216/.289/.302.

His diverse arsenal and platoon-neutral results could perhaps allow him to turn a lineup over a few times, but he will have a hard time cracking a crowded Pittsburgh rotation. The Bucs have a controllable core three of Paul Skenes, Jared Jones and Mitch Keller. They signed Andrew Heaney to add a veteran back-end guy. Bailey Falter and Johan Oviedo are options for a spot, as are younger guys like Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows, Bubba Chandler and Thomas Harrington. Like Mlodzinski, Caleb Ferguson is going to get stretched out in camp to see how it goes.

With all of those options, it’s likely Mlodzinski ends up in the bullpen, but it’s still notable that it’s on the table. In such situations, a pitcher sometimes needs the stars to align in order to find the right opportunity. As an example, Michael King worked mostly as a reliever for the Yankees for a while. In 2023, they fell out of contention and gave him a rotation job down the stretch. He pitched well enough that the Padres acquired him in the Juan Soto deal and gave him a starting role in San Diego, which he flourished in.

Now is the best time of year for a club to experiment with roles like this. After being stretched out, it’s fairly easy for a guy to then pivot to a relief role for the season, whereas doing the opposite in the middle of the summer is difficult. Mlodzinski and the Bucs can try it out and see what happens, even if it doesn’t immediately get him a rotation job. He also still has options, so staying stretched out in the minors is another possibility. It’s always possible that injuries or midseason trades open up some doors over a long season.

Pirates Outright Brady Feigl

By | at

August 31: Feigl has been outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis, according to his MLB.com transactions tracker.

August 27: The Pirates announced that both right-handers Jared Jones and Carmen Mlodzinski have been reinstated from the injured list. In corresponding moves, infielder/outfielder Ji Hwan Bae has been optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis while left-hander Brady Feigl has been designated for assignment.

Feigl, 33, is a journeyman who has been known in baseball circles for some time due to an odd coincidence, or series of coincidences. He and Brady Feigl got some attention a few years ago due to not only having the same name, but also having a similar appearance. Both had red beards, wore glasses and were the same height. Both are pitchers, though one throws from the left and the other from the right. Inside Edition did a story on the weird juxtapositions between the two five years ago (YouTube link), even getting the two to take a DNA test, though it turned out they aren’t related.

The left-handed Feigl was added to Pittsburgh’s roster on Sunday after over a decade grinding away in the minors and indy ball. He had tossed 51 2/3 innings in Triple-A this year with a 3.83 earned run average, 29% strikeout rate and 6.1% walk rate.

He was able to make his major league debut yesterday, though it didn’t go especially well. He allowed six earned runs in an inning and two thirds, allowing seven hits without recording a strikeout. While sitting on a career ERA of 32.40 was probably not how he dreamed it would go, he can at least say he made it to the show.

With the trade deadline now passed, the Pirates will have to place Feigl on waivers in the coming days. If he goes unclaimed, he won’t have the right to reject an outright assignment, as he lacks both three years of service and a previous career outright. If that comes to pass, he will return to his previous status, providing the Bucs with depth in a non-roster capacity.

Pirates Select Jake Woodford

By | at

The Pirates announced several roster moves today in the aftermath of the trade deadline. The club selected the contract of right-hander Jake Woodford and added left-hander Jalen Beeks to the roster after acquiring him from the Rockies yesterday. In addition, the club placed right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski on the 15-day injured list, transferred right-hander Daulton Jefferies to the 60-day IL, and designated right-hander Ryder Ryan for assignment.

Woodford, 27, signed with Pittsburgh on a minor league deal last month after being designated for assignment by the White Sox following two spot starts with the club where he surrendered a combined ten runs on fifteen hits while striking out seven and walking five in 8 1/3 innings of work. The right-hander’s two difficult appearances in Chicago come on the heels of an up-and-down tenure with the Cardinals. Selected by the club in the first round of the 2015 draft, Woodford made his debut in the 2020 season and after struggling in a cup of coffee that year proved to be a solid swingman and multi-inning reliever for St. Louis in 2021 and ’22. Over those two seasons, Woodford posted a 3.26 ERA and 3.93 FIP in 116 innings of work.

Those strong numbers came in spite of a paltry 15.4% strikeout rate that paired with a decent but unspectacular 7.5% walk rate. A strong 45.8% groundball rate helped to explain Woodford’s success to some extent, but the main reason he was able to post such strong numbers was that a microscopic 6.9% of his fly balls left the yard for home runs during those two seasons. That allowed him to float an above-average 76.3% strand rate while allowing a slightly below average .285 BABIP. Unfortunately, the right-hander’s production seemed to regress to his performance in 2023 as he struggled badly to a 6.23 ERA and 6.61 FIP as his walk rate climbed to 9.9% while his luck in avoiding the long ball reversed, leaving him with 11 homers allowed in just 47 2/3 innings of work.

Now Woodford figures to get another shot at the big league level with Pittsburgh after looking good in seven starts with the club at the Triple-A level. He’s allowed an ERA of just 2.29 in those 35 1/3 frames and his strikeout rate has ticked up to a respectable 26% against a 3.5% walk rate, offering some optimism that he may be able to post stronger results going forward. Woodford appears unlikely to return to the spot starter role he held with the White Sox, instead serving as a multi-inning reliever in a Pittsburgh bullpen that just lost Mlodzinski. A first round pick by the Pirates in the 2020 draft, Mlodzinski has looked good in a swing role for the club this year with a 3.18 ERA and 3.16 FIP in 34 innings but now figures to be sidelined for some time due to a right shoulder strain.

Clearing up a pair of spots on the club’s 40-man roster are Jefferies and Ryan. Jefferies has been on the shelf due to inflammation in his throwing elbow since early this month but now will be out until at least early September. As for Ryan, the right-hander was a minor league signing by the club back in December who made the club’s Opening Day roster and has been riding the shuttle between Triple-A and the majors ever since. In 17 innings of work for the club at the big league level, Ryan sports a lackluster 5.29 ERA, although his solid 21% strikeout rate and a 3.80 FIP both suggest his underlying performance may have been better than that production would suggest. That said, his numbers at Triple-A inspire little confidence, as he’s struggled to a 4.61 ERA in 27 1/3 innings at the level this year. The Pirates will have one week to attempt to pass Ryan through waivers. The Pirates would be able to outright him to the minors if he clears waivers, but the righty has already been outrighted previously and could opt to reject that assignment in favor of free agency if he so chose.

Jared Jones Makes Pirates’ Roster; Jared Triolo Likely To Be Named Second Baseman

By | at

Top pitching prospect Jared Jones has won a spot on the Pirates’ Opening Day roster, the club announced to its beat writers this morning (X link via Alex Stumpf of MLB.com). He’ll likely slot into the team’s rotation. The Bucs will select the contracts of Jones and of right-handers Hunter Stratton and Ryder Ryan (X thread via Stumpf). Pittsburgh will place catcher Yasmani Grandal and infielder/outfielder Ji Hwan Bae on the 10-day injured list to begin the season. Relievers Colin Holderman and Carmen Mlodzinski will open the season on the 15-day IL.

Also making the roster are out-of-options pitchers Bailey Falter, Josh Fleming and Roansy Contreras, as well as outfielder Edward Olivares and righty Luis Ortiz. The Bucs will not carry non-roster invitees Brent Honeywell Jr. and Billy McKinney on the roster to begin the season. Those aren’t the only key roster decisions Pittsburgh has faced this spring; Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that manager Derek Shelton last night called it a “very safe assumption” that Jared Triolo will be the Pirates’ starting second baseman to begin the season.

Jones, 22, was the Pirates’ second-round pick back in 2020 and entered spring training ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects at each of Baseball America (No. 74), MLB.com (No. 62), The Athletic (No. 39), FanGraphs (No. 62) and ESPN (No. 53).

Those rankings come on the heels of a strong 2023 season split between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis, wherein Jones logged a combined 126 1/3 innings of 3.85 ERA ball with a 27.6% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate. The right-hander’s dominant spring showing surely didn’t hurt his chances of making the Opening Day roster; Jones pitched 16 1/3 innings without an earned run during Grapefruit League play, yielding just nine hits against eight walks with 15 punchouts.

The Athletic’s Keith Law writes that Jones has made huge gains with both his heater and his slider since being drafted and now has the potential for three plus pitches. The former two-way standout is an excellent athlete and, as noted by Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin at FanGraphs, has also improved his strike-throwing as he’s shifted his focus solely to pitching. Scouting reports on Jones generally agree that there’d mid-rotation potential, and further improvements to any of his command, curveball or changeup could further boost his upside.

Jones tossed 122 2/3 innings in 2022 and 126 1/3 innings last season. That should set the stage for a decent uptick in his workload this season. The Bucs might still be cautious with him on a start-by-start basis, particularly early in the year, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if a healthy Jones approached or exceeded 150 frames this year. Since he’s a consensus top-100 prospect who’s making the Opening Day roster, his performance this season will particularly important for the Bucs. If Jones wins Rookie of the Year this season or finishes top three in National League Cy Young voting, he could net the Pirates an extra pick in the 2025 draft under the 2022-26 CBA’s newly implemented prospect promotion incentives.

Triolo, 26, made his big league debut in 2023 and spent the bulk of his time at third base, filling in for an injured Ke’Bryan Hayes. That’s Triolo’s natural position, but Hayes is one of MLB’s best defensive players at any position, so Triolo will slide over to second base in what could be his first full big league season. The writing for him winning the second base job was on the wall after the Bucs optioned Liover Peguero and Nick Gonzales — particularly with Bae also banged up (and now headed to the injured list).

In 209 plate appearances last season, Triolo batted .298/.388/.398 — production that was buoyed by an enormous .440 average on balls in play and came in  spite of a grisly 30.1% strikeout rate. The punchouts and good fortune on balls in play have both continued this spring. Triolo has taken 45 plate appearances and batted .325/.400/.525 — excellent surface-level numbers that are propped up by a more suspect .458 BABIP. Couple that with a 31.1% strikeout rate, and his production looks similar to his 2023 output — though this year’s pair of homers in his limited spring playing time is a good sign, as Triolo hit just three long balls in last year’s 209 trips to the plate.

Triolo is a strong defender who draws plenty of walks, which should help set a decent floor for him, but he’ll need to cut down on the strikeouts and/or significantly improve his quality of contact (86.6 mph average exit velocity; 32.8% hard-hit rate) if he’s to sustain much in the way of success at the plate in the majors. Strikeouts were an issue in his first taste of Triple-A work last year (26.5%) but weren’t a problem for him in the lower and mid-minor league levels, so perhaps he’ll drop that rate over a larger sample as he gains more experience. If nothing else, a plus defender at multiple positions with a keen eye at the plate has the makings of a useful utility option, but Triolo will get the opportunity to show he can be more than that right out of the gate in 2024.

The 27-year-old Stratton made his MLB debut with the Bucs in 2023 and pitched 12 innings with three runs on nine hits and three walks. He fanned 10 of his 47 opponents (21.3%) and kept the ball on the ground at a hearty 51.5% rate. He was non-tendered in November but returned on a minors deal two months later. Stratton will now get a second big league look after firing seven shutout frames with a 7-to-2 K/BB ratio this spring.

Ryan, 29 in May, pitched a scoreless frame with the Mariners in 2023. That represents the entirety of his MLB experience. He’s fanned 28.6% of his opponents in 7 2/3 innings for Pittsburgh this spring and done so with a staggering 73.7% ground-ball rate. Ryan has pitched to a sub-4.00 ERA with a strikeout rate north of 24% in each of the past two Triple-A seasons (one with the Mariners and one with the Rangers). The Pirates will give him his first real look in the majors to see if he can carry any of that success over to the game’s top level.

Pirates Designate Calvin Mitchell, Yohan Ramirez For Assignment

By | at

The Pirates announced some roster moves today, including the previously-reported selection of Miguel Andujar. They also reinstated righty Carmen Mlodzinski from the 15-day injured list to take the second extra spot on today’s expanded roster. Additionally, right-hander Max Kranick was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. To open spots on the 40-man for Andujar and Kranick, right-hander Yohan Ramirez and outfielder Calvin Mitchell were designated for assignment.

Mitchell, 24, was selected to the Pirates’ roster last year after a strong performance in Triple-A. He hit just .226/.286/.349 in his first 69 major league games and got optioned back down to the minors, but finished 2022 with a Triple-A batting line of .339/.391/.547. He’s only played two major league games this year, spending the majority of his season at Triple-A, where he’s had an unfortunate step back. He is hitting .264/.338/.426 for a wRC+ of 90 while striking out in 29.3% of his plate appearances, more than double the 14.6% rate he had in Triple-A last year.

Ramirez, 28, was acquired from the Guardians in a cash deal last summer. He had a tidy 1.25 earned run average through June 6 of this year but allowed 11 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings since then. In 22 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level this year, he has a 4.43 ERA. Control has generally been an issue for him, walking 12.5% of hitters in his major league career. He kept that to 9% in the majors this year but it’s been 12.4% in Triple-A.

The Bucs will place both players on waivers in the coming days. Mitchell is a former second-round pick who had a strong campaign last year. He still has another option year remaining after this one and less than a year of service time. Ramirez has been able to pair strikeouts with ground balls for much of his career but has struggled with the free passes. He can be optioned for the rest of this year but will be out of options next year. He can be retained for four seasons beyond this one but will have less roster maneuverability going forward.

IL Placements: Carlson, Almonte, Mlodzinski, Danner

By | at

Dylan Carlson will miss at least the next “couple weeks” due to a left oblique strain, the Cardinals outfielder told MLB.com and other media today.  St. Louis placed Carlson on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to August 10) and called up Luken Baker as the roster replacement, giving Carlson some proper time off after he first suffered the injury on Wednesday.  Given the lingering nature of some oblique injuries and the fact that the Cardinals are out of contention, it isn’t out of the question that Carlson might have already played his last game of the 2023 season….or even his last game in a St. Louis uniform.

It looked like Carlson was a future cornerstone following his impressive 2021 rookie campaign, but he has followed up that seeming breakout year with pair of injury-marred, lackluster seasons.  Carlson has hit only .230/.316/.364 over 743 plate appearances since Opening Day 2022, and both his health issues and the lack of production have reduced his playing time in the Cardinals outfield.  While Carlson is arbitration-controlled through 2026 and was the subject of several trade rumors prior to the deadline, his subpar play has certainly lowered his trade value, so it remains to be seen if the Cardinals will sell low on him this winter as they look to both solve their outfield surplus and figure out how to get the team more broadly back on track after their disastrous year.

Catching up on other IL placements from Saturday…

  • The Dodgers placed right-hander Yency Almonte on the 15-day IL and called up southpaw Victor Gonzalez.  Almonte suffered a right knee sprain that forced him to make an early exit from Friday’s game, as he told reporters (including NBC Los Angeles’ Michael J. Duarte) that the injury was caused when his cleat got stuck on the mound.  Almonte’s struggles at limiting walks have resulted in a 5.06 ERA over 48 relief innings, though he had somewhat stabilized after a tough beginning to the season — a 9.00 ERA over his first 18 innings gave way to a 2.70 ERA over his last 30 frames of work.
  • The Pirates placed Carmen Mlodzinski on the 15-day IL (retroactive to August 10) due to right elbow soreness, while calling up right-hander Osvaldo Bido from Triple-A.  Mlodzinski made his MLB debut on June 16 and has an excellent 2.28 ERA over his first 23 2/3 innings in the Show.  The righty’s 4.74 SIERA is less inspiring, as Mlodzinski has thrived despite subpar strikeout (20.8%) and walk (12.9%) rates.
  • The Blue Jays placed right-hander Hagen Danner on the 15-day IL due to a left oblique strain, and Nate Pearson was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.  Danner made his MLB debut on Friday and retired the first batter he faced, yet then had to leave the game after getting injured while facing the second batter of his relief appearance.  The 24-year-old Danner had earned a look in the majors after posting a 3.81 ERA over 28 1/3 Triple-A innings this season, but it will be at least 15 days before he can get back onto the mound.

Pirates Select Carmen Mlodzinski

By | at

The Pirates announced they’ve selected right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski onto the major league roster. Lefty reliever Rob Zastryzny is headed to the 15-day injured list with forearm inflammation. The Bucs already had two vacancies on the 40-man roster, so no further move was necessary.

Mlodzinski, 24, gets to the big leagues for the first time. A high-profile prospect at the University of South Carolina, he went 31st overall in the 2020 draft. Mlodzinski entered pro ball as a starting pitching prospect and remained in the rotation up through Double-A. He’s moved full-time to relief this season, his first extended run with Triple-A Indianapolis.

The 6’2″ hurler has impressed in his new bullpen role. Over 25 2/3 innings across 19 outings, he has a 3.16 ERA. He’s striking out 27.2% of opponents against a slightly high but tolerable 9.6% walk percentage. Baseball America recently ranked him the #20 talent in a strong Pittsburgh farm system, crediting him with a well-rounded three-pitch arsenal.

Mlodzinski would’ve been eligible for the Rule 5 draft if not added to the 40-man roster next offseason. He broke through a little sooner than roster mechanizations required with his solid few months in Triple-A. He’ll take the bullpen spot vacated by Zastryzny, who has made 18 appearances with a 5.29 ERA on the year.

Pirates Sign Two Draft Picks

By | at

The Pirates have signed supplemental first-round pick Carmen Mlodzinski and second-round selection Jared Jones, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com (Twitter links). Mlodzinski receives a $2.05MM bonus that comes in a bit shy of his $2.31MM slot value at No. 31, while Jones’ $2.2MM bonus trounces his No. 44 selection’s $1.689MM slot value. Jones’ agreement was initially reported a couple weeks back, but his bonus wasn’t known until today.

Mlodzinski, 21, didn’t post gaudy numbers in his freshman or sophomore year at South Carolina — a broken foot wiped out much of his sophomore campaign —  but he tore through the Cape Cod League last summer. Encouragingly, he continued those gains early in 2020 before the NCAA season was halted. In 54 2/3 innings between the Cape and his early 2020 showing, he posted a combined 2.47 ERA with a 62-to-12 K/BB ratio.

MLB.com rated Mlodzinski as the No. 21 player in this year’s draft, and Baseball America wasn’t far behind at No. 25. He fell within the top 50 players on the lists from FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and The Athletic’s Keith Law, too. He’s still relatively new to pitching, having played infield until his senior year of high school, Law notes. Mlodzinski sits in the mid-90s with a heavy sinker that induces plenty of grounders, and he reached the upper 90s last summer in the Cape Cod League. Reports on his secondary pitches are more mixed, but he’s seen as a potential mid-rotation arm.

Jones, a high schooler out of California, is a two-way player who’s more highly regarded as a pitcher. Baseball America ranked him 41st in the class and noted that he has an 80-grade arm from the outfield but was a borderline first-round talent as a pitcher. MLB.com writes that his future is “definitely” on the mound, touting a 96-97 mph heater and a slider that looks to be an above-average offering as well. He’d been committed to Texas but will instead turn pro.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top