Carmen Mlodzinski

Mlodzinski began the 2024 season on the injured list with an elbow injury, but he emerged as one of Pittsburgh's most reliable relievers by season's end. Across his final 35 appearances, he surrendered zero earned runs 27 times and maintained a 2.30 ERA in that span. While it took some time, the Pirates did take note of Mlodzinski's success and pushed him into a high-leverage role in the final two weeks the season, and he delivered two wins and a hold while working exclusively in the seventh and eighth innings. It's dangerous to draw conclusions from such a short sample, but the back end of Pittsburgh's bullpen is uncertain after David Bednar's struggles in 2024, with Mlodzinski a potential option for saves if Bednar's downturn carries over into 2025. The primary problem with considering Mlodzinski as a potential source of saves is that he has a relatively modest strikeout rate (22.2 percent in 86.2 career innings) and is instead reliant on keeping batted balls on the ground to get outs (career 46.7 percent groundball rate). Overall, Mlodzinski is more likely to be relevant in leagues that reward holds, but he's a name to keep on the radar as a potential source of saves. Read Past Outlooks