Carmen Mlodzinski has worn many hats for the Pittsburgh Pirates since he was called to the Major Leagues in 2023. He has served many roles, including set-up man, multi-inning reliever, opener, and even starting pitcher throughout his young MLB career. Now going into his fourth big league season, what sort of role could we see the right-hander serve for the Bucs in 2026?
The Pirates started the year with Mlodzinski in the starting rotation. However, his performance in nine starts wasn’t anything to write home about. He pitched 39.2 innings while working to a 5.67 ERA, 4.35 FIP, and 1.61 WHIP. A .351 batting average on balls in play didn’t do him any favors, but his peripherals as a whole were not great. Mlodzinski struck out just 15.1% of opponents, compared to a 22.2% K% between 2023 and 2024. He also had a 1.13 HR/9 ratio, and 90.1 MPH exit velocity. Of the few positive peripherals from his work as a starting pitcher, Mlodzinski did have a solid 7.9% barrel rate and 6.7% walk rate.
Mlodzinski was eventually sent back to Triple-A to work on things, and was recalled about a month later in mid-June. He was moved back to the bullpen, and only worked as an opener on three different occasions. His final 59.1 innings of the year saw Mlodzinski pitch to a pristine 2.12 ERA, 2.65 FIP, and 1.10 WHIP. He kept up a strong 6.3% walk rate, and upped his strikeout rate by over 10% to 25.5%. He also became much less home run prone, with a 0.46 HR/9 ratio and 4.4% barrel rate.
Nearly all of Mlodzinski’s appearances after getting recalled from Triple-A were multi-inning appearances. Only one of his games saw him pitch just a single inning. He is no stranger to pitching multiple innings at a time. In 2024, he appeared in 40 games, operating as an opener four times, and tallying 50.2 innings pitched. The 99 IP he had in 2025 was nearly double his 2024 mark.
Arguably the best route the Pirates could take is signing a veteran starting pitcher to make the need for Mlodzinski to start any games very low. This could also give them the opportunity for Mlodzinski to see more high-leverage innings in 2026. He did serve as a 7th/8th inning set-up option for the Bucs in 2023, and was quite effective in that role. The right-hander has also improved since then, going from a 98 Stuff+ in ‘23 to a 105 Stuff+ in 2024-2025. Paul Skenes is the only Pirates pitcher who has thrown at least 100 innings with a better Stuff+ over the last two seasons.
However, the most likely scenario is that Mlodzinski would serve a similar role as he did in 2025. He’d be used for multiple innings at a time out of the pen, and make an occasional open. The first four spots of the Pirates’ rotation are mostly set, and the Bucs still have Hunter Barco and Thomas Harrington on hand who are more accustomed to starting games. They also are getting Jared Jones back sometime during the first half of the season, giving them another rotation option that would be above Mlodzinski on the depth chart.
Regardless of what role Mlodzinski takes on in 2026, he’ll be more than prepared to undertake it. He’s been a valuable member of the Pirates’ pitching staff the last three seasons, not just because of how well he has pitched, with a career 132 ERA+, but because of his ability to serve whatever role the Bucs need him to pitch in.
