The Pittsburgh Pirates starting rotation is headlined by third-year pro Paul Skenes, who has taken the league by storm since he entered as a rookie in 2024.
The Pirates also have Mitch Keller, Braxton Ashcraft, and Bubba Chandler as the three likeliest pitchers behind Skenes, but there’s a chance the team could add a left-handed pitcher in the coming weeks leading up to spring training. Bleacher Report writer Joel Reuter believes the team should re-sign left-handed pitcher Tyler Anderson to round out the rotation for the Pirates in 2026.
“Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler and Carmen Mlodzinski are the leading in-house candidates to fill out the Pirates rotation, but considering they have a combined 29 starts in the majors, adding a low-cost veteran to help absorb some innings makes a ton of sense,” Reuter wrote.
“The Pirates have made a point of targeting veteran lefties on one-year deals in recent years, signing Derek Holland (2020), Tyler Anderson (2021), Jose Quintana (2022), Rich Hill (2023), Martin Pérez (2024) and Andrew Heaney (2025). A reunion with Anderson or Quintana would keep that trend alive.“
The Pirates also have Mlodzinski as a potential option in the rotation if they were to need a sixth starter. However, Mlodzinski is right-handed, so the Pirates would likely still need to target a southpaw to add to the mix.
BD community, what do you think of the projected starting rotation? Do the Pirates need to add another left-handed starter? Gather your thoughts and chime off in the comment section below.