The NS9 Report is the start to your week. Posted bright and early every Monday morning, I’ll break down the three things that I’m looking for each week in Pirates land.
Mlodzinski’s Crashout
I’ll be honest, I’m not sure what to do with this situation. Last week when Carmen Mlodzinski did an interview after being told he was needed in the bullpen, I defended him for being disappointing and answering the media’s questions honestly. There were a lot of people calling him selfish and a diva and that he hadn’t earned the right to say what he said. I defended him, said he was justified by being upset and that I had no problem with it as long as he did his job, went to the bullpen and continue pitching with a chip on his shoulder. Well…things took a turn Sunday when the Pirates announced they placed Mlod on the restricted list. Meaning the team doesn’t have to pay you and you’re basically in limbo while you work on personal things or whatever is going on with the player. For more info on the restricted list, check this link out via BR Bullpen. You see the restricted list come up a lot when a player is in trouble with the law since it’s allows teams to keep your rights but they don’t have to pay you.
Ben Cherington talked to reporters about this on Sunday as well:
Well, well, well…that’s not ideal. It’s hard not to speculate here, but was Cherington’s media blitz just damange control? Mlodzinski’s last start was last Monday. Why in the world would he not be “ready to pitch” this past weekend if it wasn’t that he was refusing to go to the bullpen? If a player really needed a mental day or two, the team likely would just sit the player for a couple days but the fact that they didn’t hesitate and placed him on the restricted list where they don’t have to pay you is telling to me. And I take back everything I said when I defended the man. You can be pissed off or disappointed about the move, but you absolutely can’t refuse to pitch one day and leave your teammates out to dry. That’s unacceptable.
Cherington said he expects Mlod to pitch on the road trip. I’m not sure how you let him throw another pitch for your organization after this. I would trade him and get some relief help or let him rot on the restricted list for a while, but it’s not my call to make. Maybe Cherington is giving him a day or two to think about it and calling his bluff to see if he’ll pitch this week in Houston out of the pen. We’ll see…it’s the biggest story of the season, in my opinion, and something that I want to see how it plays out this week.
And where is Mlodzinski’s agent in all of this? I can’t imagine an agent recommending his player to do this where he risks not getting paid? It’s absurd. I’m not sure what’s going on with Mlod because none of us know him personally, but doing this is a horrible look. Fans already were turning on him and he didn’t make any new fans with this news. He comes off looking like a bad teammate and not a team player and his agent looks like a clown to be honest. I wonder what his teammates think of his antics right about now?
This was just a crazy turn of events with this development. We’ll see what happens this week on the road trip. Do you think we’ll see Mlod some point in Houston pitching out of the bullpen and do you want him back on this team?
Cutch DFA Result and La Sorsa
Couple roster decisions should be happening this week. One in the organization and one outside of the organization.
The Rangers DFA’d Andrew McCutchen on May 27 and they have five days to trade Cutch or place him on waivers. That decision will come down this week in the next couple days. Cutch can decline a minor league assignment and then he’d become a free agent and be available to teams at a prorated minimum salary. I note this because while I don’t think it’s likely, it is a possibility that the Pirates could entertain signing Cutch and bring him back at next to nothing. The Pirates didn’t bring McCutchen back this past offseason so I doubt they would suddenly do it now especially after Cutch slashed just .192/.277/.260 for an abysmal 60 OPS+ in 83 plate appearances with Texas this season. Even as bad as Marcell Ozuna has been at the primary DH, releasing him and bringing back McCutchen would be a wild move. But…it’s a non-zero chance and you just never know what Cherington will cook up next.
And then there’s Joe La Sorsa who reportedly will exercise his upward mobility clause Monday for the second time this season. That clause forces the Pirates to offer La Sorsa up to all 29 other teams. If another team wants his services, the Pirates have to either trade him to that team or add him to their active roster.
La Sorsa made some news during spring training as he pitched for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic as Italy made a run in the tournament and La Sorsa pitched decently against some top flight talent. At Triple-A Indy this season, La Sorsa owns a 3.60 ERA in 25.2 innings mostly out of the bullpen. I say this because currently the Pirates have an open active roster with Cam Sanders being optioned back to Triple-A after the game Sunday and if Mlodzinski refuses to pitch or “isn’t mentally ready to pitch,” then this team does have a bullpen spot open. If no other team is interested in adding him then La Sorsa would stay in the Pirates minor league system. Again, both of these decisions should come down this week so look for them.
Big Month of June
The Pirates finished May with a 32-28 record, five games behind the Brewers for first place and they’re in a virtual tie with the Diamondbacks for the final NL Wildcard spot. Not too bad, but this next stretch of games through June until the All-Star break could be a difference maker as the schedule is going to get tougher.
This week they head to Houston, who’s off to a 27-34 start to their season, but then they get the top two teams in the NL with three in Atlanta and then back home for three against the Dodgers. Later this month, the Bucs head to Sacramento for their first regular season games there ever against the A’s and then take on Seattle, two teams in first and second place in their division. They’ll finish the month in Philadelphia to play the Phillies, have the Nationals in there but then see the Braves again this time at home in early July and finish the first half with the current first place Brewers. And after the All-Star break, they open with a road trip to first-place Cleveland then to New York to face the Yankees.
It’s not a brutal stretch, but there sure are a lot of first and second place teams coming up. The Pirates have played well so far on the road so let’s see how they do against an Astros team that has been struggling and then take on the 40-20 Braves this weekend.
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