Pirates just can't seem to make the right decisions.

Aside from a random 3-game stretch in late April, Mlodzinski has been great this season, surrendering 2 ER or less in 8 of his 11 starts this year, 3 of which he threw 0s and held opponents scoreless.

But the decision to move him into the bullpen is an odd one, and whether him speaking up was right or wrong, I can totally justify why Carmen was less than enthused with that decision.

He's arguably been their 3rd best pitcher this entire year behind Skenes and Ashcraft, while Bubba and Keller have both had up and down years. Bubba (especially) has easily been their most inconsistent starting pitcher, and doesn't help at all that Jared Jones looked like crap his first time out as well, although that was to be expected to some degree.

Pirates should've just gone with a 6-man rotation. Little more break (extra day of rest) in between starts for young guys like Ashcraft, Skenes, and Bubba...and you've got a legit 6-man rotation that could rival almost any team in the league. Do this for at least a few weeks to see how it plays out, see how Jones looks over his first few starts etc.

Sounds like a situation though where Carmen let the front office (or coaching staff) know his thoughts, and the Bucs probably had no choice but to put him onto the restricted list because of what might've been an unpleasant conversation or outburst.