The Pirates don't seem to be closing the door on Carmen Mlodzinski's desire to be a starter and he isn't either. But, according to Don Kelly, and Mlodzinski, the franchise wants their best pitchers at the major-league level.
"I'm here to help the team any way I can. I'm not the GM. I don't make those decisions, but I can certainly voice this is what I want to do and this is what I'm capable of," Mlodzinski said. "They didn't say, 'Hey, you're a reliever the rest of your life.' It was, 'We want our best pitchers in the big leagues,' which I understand. Whatever that role is, I'm going to have to take it and do it the best I can."
"Excited to have him back and be in that role. Who knows where this leads down the road?" Kelly said. "Totally not closing the door on starting, just felt like it was a good opportunity for him to help us win some games now."
Mlodzinski was recalled Wednesday ahead of the Pirates' series finale against the Marlins at PNC Park. He made three starts and produced a 1.15 ERA and 1.15 WHIP for Class AAA Indianapolis.
Mlodzinski and the Pirates created a plan to convert Mlodzinski into a starter at the end of last year. He made his desire public during spring training but produced a 5.67 ERA over nine starts to start the year. He struggled the second time through the order with ERAs of 12.38 and 13.50 in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively. He had a 1.00 ERA in the first and 0.00 ERA in the second.
The right-hander went to Indianapolis with a goal to throw his fastballs to both sides of the plate and improve his offspeed pitches and splitter. But, it also allowed him to take a step back and consider his situation.
"Obviously nobody wants to be in Triple-A. I'd much rather be in the big leagues," Mlodzinski said. "But I was able to go in there, make the adjustments I feel like I needed to make and kind of take a step back and have some room to breathe, in a sense. I threw the ball well. I did my job, and that's all you can ask for."
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
THE ASYLUM
Greg Macafee
11:59 pm - 06.12.2025CHICAGOMlodzinski to help 'any way I can'
The Pirates don't seem to be closing the door on Carmen Mlodzinski's desire to be a starter and he isn't either. But, according to Don Kelly, and Mlodzinski, the franchise wants their best pitchers at the major-league level.
"I'm here to help the team any way I can. I'm not the GM. I don't make those decisions, but I can certainly voice this is what I want to do and this is what I'm capable of," Mlodzinski said. "They didn't say, 'Hey, you're a reliever the rest of your life.' It was, 'We want our best pitchers in the big leagues,' which I understand. Whatever that role is, I'm going to have to take it and do it the best I can."
"Excited to have him back and be in that role. Who knows where this leads down the road?" Kelly said. "Totally not closing the door on starting, just felt like it was a good opportunity for him to help us win some games now."
Mlodzinski was recalled Wednesday ahead of the Pirates' series finale against the Marlins at PNC Park. He made three starts and produced a 1.15 ERA and 1.15 WHIP for Class AAA Indianapolis.
Mlodzinski and the Pirates created a plan to convert Mlodzinski into a starter at the end of last year. He made his desire public during spring training but produced a 5.67 ERA over nine starts to start the year. He struggled the second time through the order with ERAs of 12.38 and 13.50 in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively. He had a 1.00 ERA in the first and 0.00 ERA in the second.
The right-hander went to Indianapolis with a goal to throw his fastballs to both sides of the plate and improve his offspeed pitches and splitter. But, it also allowed him to take a step back and consider his situation.
"Obviously nobody wants to be in Triple-A. I'd much rather be in the big leagues," Mlodzinski said. "But I was able to go in there, make the adjustments I feel like I needed to make and kind of take a step back and have some room to breathe, in a sense. I threw the ball well. I did my job, and that's all you can ask for."
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
We’d love to have you!