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The Pittsburgh Pirates made a surprising decision earlier this week by removing Carmen Mlodzinski from the rotation amid Jared Jones’ return.

It appears that it will have unpleasant ramifications.

In another unexpected move, the Pirates announced they have placed Mlodzinski on the restricted list on Sunday. This was in addition to Konnor Griffin being placed on the injured list and Ryan O’Hearn’s return.

In a corresponding move, the Pirates called up right-hander Cam Sanders from Triple-A.

Pittsburgh now has an open spot on its 40-man roster.

When placed on the restricted list, players aren’t paid for any time spent, nor do they receive any MLB service time.  Teams usually use this for players who are suspended or are dealing with a personal issue that keeps them away from the team for an undetermined period of time.  

Why Did the Pittsburgh Pirates Place Mlodzinski on the Restricted List?

Pittsburgh made a surprising transaction by placing Mlodzinski on the restricted list.

However, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that he should return on Tuesday and was not suspended.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington revealed why he was placed on the restricted list Sunday to Beazley.

Cherington told Beazley that Mlodzinski “wasn’t ready” to pitch Sunday.

“Going into the weekend, we understood and communicated with Carmen that at some point this weekend, we were going to need him to be ready or we’d have to replace him on the team in fairness to the team, so that’s what happened today,” Cherington said.

This seems to stem directly from the Pirates removing Mlodzinski from the rotation for Jones’ return from the 60-day injured list.

Jones will rejoin the rotation along with superstar Paul Skenes, Braxton Ashcraft, Mitch Keller and Bubba Chandler.

This means that Mlodzinski was the odd man out.

Beazley wrote that Mlodzinski was open about his disappointment while speaking with the media on Thursday. He has been vocal in the past about preferring to work as a starter.

“[I’m] still communicating with the organization and the people in my corner, whether that’s my family or my agency, about what is next,” Mlodzinski said. However, Cherington said today that he had not requested a trade.

Should Mlodzinski Have Been Moved to the Bullpen?

Skenes, Jones, Ashcraft and Keller’s jobs are safe. That much we know.

However, Chandler has been struggling this year. Because of this, one could justify that Mlodzinski could have had that fifth starter spot.

The Pirates selected Mlodzinski in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of the University of South Carolina.

He would make his debut in 2023 and has had fantastic results as both a starter and a reliever.

In 120 games (26 starts), Mlodzinski has pitched to a 3.37 ERA in 240.2 innings.

In 2026, he made the jump from reliever to full-time starter and intended to keep it that way. Through 11 games (nine starts), Mlodzinski has pitched to a 3.76 ERA in 55 innings.

For comparison, Chandler has pitched to a 4.85 ERA in 11 starts (52 innings).

However, Chandler should have a longer leash due to his status as a highly-regarded prospect. Before the 2026 season, Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and Baseball Prospectus all viewed Chandler as a consensus top-15 prospect.

While the results haven’t gone as planned, it appears the Pittsburgh Pirates will attempt to have Chandler figure it out as a starter, rather than demoting him.

Could he get another chance due to injury or more struggles from Chandler? Yes. However, Mlodzinski’s return on Tuesday suggests there are no more hard feelings towards the organization.

Understandably, Mlodzinski is unhappy with this move. However, he may have to tough it out as a reliever for the time being, as he is controllable through the 2029 season.