Jared Jones is nearly ready to return. Be sure that when he does, it will be in the Pirates’ rotation rather than the bullpen.
Jones is coming off a serious arm injury. The Pirates can better manage his innings, recovery time, etc., if he is in the rotation. That is what he’s been prepping for in his rehab stint. That is what he almost assuredly will do.
Question is, who’s coming out?
Assuming the Pirates don’t go with a six-man rotation — slim chance — there are only two candidates: Carmen Mlodzinski and Bubba Chandler.
By merit, Mlodzinski has earned the right to stay. He has been the better pitcher. He delivered one of the biggest starts of the season Wednesday night in St. Louis, as the last-place Pirates avoided dipping under .500 and dropping to 0-6 against the Cardinals by delivering a 7-0 win.
Mlodzinski, who’s earned-run average dipped to 3.96, has been the starter in three of the team’s six shutouts. He has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his past three starts.
Chandler, meanwhile, sits at 1-5 with a 5.14 ERA and a major league-leading 31 walks. After he turned in passable back-to-back starts, the Phillies lit him up like a pinball machine. He is the obvious candidate for removal.
Should be an easy call then, right?
Not exactly.
Here’s the dilemma: Chandler might have nowhere to go, and Mlodzinski might be the guy who can most help an ailing bullpen.
Did I say ailing? I meant imploding, and if Jake Mangum hadn’t made a miraculous, bases-loaded catch Wednesday, the bullpen again would be a major talking-point today. Mangum saved another precarious Yohan Ramirez outing.
Did I say precarious? I meant unhinged. Ramirez is just difficult to trust.
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• Tim Benz: Pirates solved a lot of pesky problems in Wednesday’s much-needed win in St. Louis
• Carmen Mlodzinski, bullpen sharp as Pirates shut out Cardinals
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Meanwhile, putting Chandler in the bullpen anytime soon might be akin to throwing a tiki torch on a gas puddle. He’s not getting much swing-and-miss at the moment. He can’t get any chase outside the zone. And yes, he leads the majors in walks.
Finding a way to right Chandler is among the most important issues the Pirates face. He is incredibly talented. He just doesn’t seem like a great candidate for the bullpen, which would leave a trip to Triple-A as a possible option.
Would that be a good thing?
Chandler wasn’t even pitching well at Triple-A last season when the Pirates recalled him. Maybe they should have recalled him when he was hot. There’s also a chance he goes down there and blows everyone away because they are Triple-A hitters. How does that help him in the big leagues?
I suppose he could work on his command down there. It was former major leaguer Curt Schilling who said during spring training that Chandler needs a “crap ton more innings” in the minor leagues. Maybe he was right.
The other option might be to simply unleash the animal inside Chandler and let him be himself. It’d be easier to live with the walks that way.
That is more or less what analyst Michael McKenry suggested on 93.7 The Fan a few days ago.
McKenry recently spoke to a “pitching guru” he knows, who reminded him that Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Sandy Koufax and other all-time greats struggled to find the strike zone early in their careers.
“He said, ‘You gotta give Bubba all the time possible,’ ” McKenry said.
McKenry then opined that Chandler needs “find his swagger,” which in turn might “clear up his mechanics.” Maybe people shouldn’t worry so much about the walks. Maybe that’s what has Chandler trying to be too careful.
“I want the (ticked) off version of him,” McKenry said. “I wanna see his personality come out on the mound. It has not been there. You can throw everything else out the window for me. You bring back that personality, confidence comes, and he’s pitching better.”
That got me to thinking, what would Chandler be like as an angry closer, stalking the mound and using just his 100 mph fastball and changeup?
But that’s a story for another day. These Pirates are in survival mode, and even though Mlodzinski has won the battle, there is a larger one at hand — finding a way back to the playoffs — and on that front, he might best serve in the bullpen.