PIRATES

After Jared Jones was activated from the injured list and Carmen Mlodzinski was shifted to the bullpen, Mlodzinski didn't appear pleased at all. He didn't say much Thursday night, but the silence and the small number of words he did produce were rather telling as to how he felt in the moment. 

"I can honestly say I'm just still communicating with the organization and the people in my corner, whether that's my family or my agency, about what's next," Mlodzinski said. "I really don’t have any comments after that.”

That comment was left rather open-ended. Did Mlodzinski have thoughts of moving on from the team in general, or was he hinting at something else regarding his future? That's something I requested further clarification on today here at Daikin Park.

“I wanna be a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates," he said. "Any time I converse with people who are in my corner in a sense, I think it’s making sure we’re doing what’s best for the team and myself. Sometimes you have to take a step back and say, ‘What do I need to do to my routine, and what do I need to do to adjust just to make sure I can dominate this role?’ Those were the conversations we had.” 

A lot has happened since the Pirates unveiled their plans for Mlodzinski. That includes his placement on the restricted list, which normally serves as a punitive measure that prevents the player from being paid based on the presumed violation of his contract, most commonly being unavailable to play for non-baseball or personal reasons. 

Ben Cherington said Sunday that Mlodzinski informed the team that morning that he wasn't ready to pitch, prompting the decision to recall Cam Sanders from Class AAA Indianapolis. 

"The team made the decision to make that move on Sunday to kinda give me an extra day in a sense to prepare for this role," Mlodzinski said. "When they're putting me in this role, they want me to succeed in it, they want me to throw valuable innings for them in the bullpen, and to have success there. I think the move just reflected that we needed an arm. Essentially a short-term fix because of the 14-game stretch we were on and the taxation the bullpen took on. That move was essentially to give me a little bit more prep going into this." 

Mlodzinski said he's used these last few days to communicate further with the team about what the best thing would be for him moving forward. He described the conversations as "simple" and seems to be coming around to the reality of returning to the bullpen to help this team win. 

"I think I understand why the move was made," said Mlodzinski, who has a 2.63 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and .223 batting average against over 94 career relief appearances. "I feel like I'm able to do a few different things, and I've kind of done them through my career as well. This isn't new for me. Definitely excited to be back in a role I know I've had success in and to be able to help the team in any way. ... I think I'm in a position to stick to my word and do what the team is asking for the betterment of the team. That's what I'm here for and that's what my job entitles."