PITTSBURGH (AP) — Baseball’s top pitching prospect is getting called up to the majors.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have decided to promote 22-year-old right-hander Bubba Chandler ahead of their game Friday against the Colorado Rockies, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the roster move was not yet official.
Chandler will join a staff that already includes 2024 NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes.
The person told the AP that Chandler will initially work in a “bulk” bullpen role. Chandler got off to a hot start in Triple-A this year but has stumbled lately and is currently 5-6 with a 4.05 ERA in 100 innings pitched this year for Indianapolis.
The Pirates have been careful with Chandler’s workload since he moved to pitching full-time ahead of the 2023 season after being projected as a two-way player when he was drafted in 2021. Chandler saw time at shortstop and as a designated hitter early in his minor-league career but struggled at the plate, hitting just .184 with Class-A Greensboro in 2022.
Asked in February if he missed hitting, Chandler joked he learned in the minors that for a position player, he’s a pretty good pitcher.
And potentially a very good one. Yet Pittsburgh has been cautious in bringing Chandler along. He pitched 106 innings in 2023 and 119 innings last season.
Chandler got off to a scorching start at Triple-A this spring, posting a 1.33 ERA in April and a 2.54 ERA in May. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington, however, had been hesitant to promote Chandler, citing his relative inexperience as opposed to Skenes, who had a standout career at LSU before the Pirates called him up in May 2024.
Chandler’s effectiveness has waned of late. He went 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA in three starts this month for Indianapolis.
Yet with Pittsburgh heading for a last-place finish in the NL Central, Chandler will get an extended audition in the majors as the club points toward 2026.
The top of the Pirates’ rotation for next year appears to be set with Skenes and Mitch Keller. The other three spots are a question mark at the moment, with Jared Jones (who has missed all season after having Tommy John surgery), Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows and Johan Oviedo (who made his second start on Wednesday after having Tommy John surgery of his own in late 2023), all in the mix.
Chandler can join them with a solid showing, with the club likely looking for chances to put him in low-leverage situations. In that way, having him available for a weekend series against MLB-worst Colorado makes sense.
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