Carmen Mlodzinski will be a part of the starting rotation to start the 2025 season and Thomas Harrington will not make the opening day roster Derek Shelton said Monday morning at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla.

Shelton added that there is no update on Jared Jones and that the team does not expect to finalize it's opening day roster, in terms of the final bullpen spots and the final position player spot, until Wednesday.

Both Mlodzinski and Harrington have made a strong impressions this spring. Mlodzinski started the Pirates' Grapefruit League opener on Feb. 22 in Sarasota, Fla. against the Orioles and shared his desire to become a starting pitcher in the future and now he gets his wish four days before the start of the regular season.

"He was pretty consistent all spring," Shelton said. "His velocity held, I think the way he took care of himself this winter, we’ve seen the breaking ball continue to get better and he kinda earned that spot."

Mlodzinski has appeared in four games this spring and has started in two. He's recorded a 3.72 ERA over 9 2/3 innings of work while striking out eight, walking three and giving up 10 hits. He hasn't pitched more than three innings in a game but has also pitched multiple simulated games on the back field at Pirate City.

His most recent outing was on Friday and he threw 60 pitches over four innings and was pretty efficient, according to sources. He's also developed a split-finger and a two-seam fastball to expand his repertoire. 

"I've actually had to manipulate the ball quite a bit in the past few years to have a four-seam, which is what I was throwing. But the thought was that it would help with efficiency,: Mlodzinski said about adding his two-seamer after his last start. "If I'm gonna be stretched out, that's a pitch that would give a different look, something that could create quicker outs. Obviously that's something it didn't do today so much, but I'm learning to adjust the lane to which I'm actually going to throw it, and learning more about the pitch."

During relief appearances last year, Mlodzinski used five different pitches. He focused heavily on his four-seam fastball (39.8%), slider (28.9%), cutter (20%) and sweeper (12.9%). He also threw a changeup three times. Adding a split finger and two-seam fastball adds to his versatility and his ability to keep hitters off balance and make his way through a lineup multiple times.

"We’ve seen him pitch in leverage roles, we’ve seen him pitch in middle inning roles, but when you have the full repertoire, now we feel that it’s something that is going to sustain throughout two times plus through the order," Shelton said.

While Harrington won't make the opening day roster, Shelton said he's had a good spring. The Pirates' No. 3 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, made two starts and three appearances so far this spring and is set to make his third start today. Leading into today, he'd recorded a 2.70 ERA over 6 2/3 innings of work with five strikeouts, three walks and three hits.

Among the Pirates' top prospects who received an invite to big-league camp, Harrington was the last one remaining in the clubhouse at LECOM Park. After his last start he said he held high expectations for himself and wanted to make the opening day roster. He'll mis on that for now, but don't be surprised if he makes an impact at some point this season.

"I'm really impressed with the spring he’s had," Shelton said. "We think that he’s very close to being a big league pitcher."

A few other notes from Shelton's availability: 

• It's going to be tough for Jones to break the opening day roster but his health won't factor into any roster decisions the team makes, Shelton said: "With the fact that Jared has not thrown, that’s obvviosuly going to be a situation where it’s going to be challenging for him to be able to break with us. Then, the bullpen and the other one would just be like I think we have to see how things shake out over the next 24 hours."

• The Pirates won't have final roster decisions until Wednesday, but it seems Ryan Borucki is in a good spot to make the team. Shelton said: "There’s not been a decision, I would say he’s in a really good spot. He’s had a really good spring. I think we know what he has the ability to do. He’s going to throw again today, so I think he’s in a good spot and has had a good spring."

• There's also still not a decision on DJ Stewart but Shelton said: "We’ll probably make that decision as we get through today."

• Shelton also doesn't seem concerned about carrying both Jack Suwinski and Ji Hwan Bae as fourth and fifth outfielders. He did say that Bae is an outfielder at this point, but they've revisited things in the past, so that could come into play. Both have swung hot bats this spring and Shelton sees them both as different types of players who can impact the game in different ways: "Sometimes when guys have the springs and do the work they do in the winter and they deserve to be on the club then it’s my job and the staff’s job to figure out the functionality of the roster and how we make those guys play. I think in those two guys’ cases, they are different players. They add different elements to the game that we would just have to weaponize."