Why a Six-Man Rotation Down the Stretch Makes Sense for Pirates
PITTSBURGH – Mike Burrows made his 14th start (15th appearance) of the season for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their 14-8 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on Sunday afternoon. The rookie right-hander allowed four runs – all of which came in the third – across five innings.
Burrows has already eclipsed his career-high in innings as a professional. With 100 innings now logged this season, he’s nearly doubled last year’s workload between the minor leagues and a lone appearance with the Pirates.
Following Sunday’s game, manager Don Kelly said that the Pirates will have to be mindful of that moving forward.
“We’re taking it into account,” he said. “We’re having discussions on that and we’re gonna talk to Mike about it.”
Given that Burrows’ workload the rest of the season will have to be monitored, and given that the fifth spot in the rotation isn’t currently solidified, the Pirates will have to get creative in how they deploy their starting pitchers the rest of the season.
The Pirates have plenty of starting pitching depth between the active roster and Triple-A Indianapolis, and they will want to get eyes on a handful of guys down the stretch.
“The way I see it is we have more than five guys we’d like to get starts for,” general manager Ben Cherington said on his Sunday radio show on 93.7 The Fan. “We’re mapping that out as we speak.”
One of the avenues for doing that will be to use a six-man rotation. Though it might not happen right away, adding an extra pitcher to the rotation is in play as the season goes on.
“That could be one option,” said Cherington. “It’s a little bit easier to do that, I think, as you get into September with the extra pitcher. That’s one way to do it.”
Using a six-man rotation makes sense for the Pirates for a number of reasons. It will allow staff ace Paul Skenes to continue his push for the Cy Young, while at the same time, ensuring he stays fresh as he closes in on last year’s output.
It will also enable the Pirates to get looks at several players who could impact the 2026 rotation. Braxton Ashcraft has spent the bulk of his debut season pitching out of the bullpen, but he’s been a starter throughout his minor-league career and could eventually wind up back in the rotation. Like Burrows and Skenes, though, the Pirates will have to be mindful of Ashcraft’s workload given his injury history and innings pitched already this season.
Johan Oviedo, who returned from Tommy John surgery and made his first start with the Pirates since 2023 earlier this homestand, is another pitcher who will be under consideration to make more starts before the season comes to a close.
Then of course, there’s top pitching prospect Bubba Chandler, who is getting closer to making his MLB debut with each passing day.
There are a number of reasons that could explain why he hasn’t been called up yet, whether it’s some on-field hiccups or the Pirates thinking in the long-term, but the expectation is still that he will pitch in the big leagues at some point by the end of the year.
That give the Pirates at least three more pitchers who are vying for starts before the year, in addition to those already anchoring a spot.
With an eye towards the future, a six-man rotation might serve the Pirates best – not just by limiting injury risk in the long-run, but by creating more opportunities for other pitchers who could factor into their plans for next season.
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