PITTSBURGH -- The wait for Bubba is over.
Per source, the Pirates will select the contract of Bubba Chandler on Friday ahead of their contest against the Rockies at PNC Park. The right-hander is ranked as the No. 7 prospect in the game, according to MLB Pipeline, and is the top pitching prospect in baseball.
The team has not officially confirmed the move, though news of the promotion broke just prior to Pittsburgh's series finale against the Blue Jays, which the Bucs won, 2-1.
Chandler will initially be used as a bulk reliever, but he'll have an opportunity to earn starts in the Majors in 2025. The club views him as a starting pitcher long term, but this is consistent with the role and expectations of other pitchers who have been promoted this season, like Braxton Ashcraft.
“We saw Ashcraft really thrive in it and continue to get his feet wet in the bullpen,” manager Don Kelly said, explaining the move. “Had some really big outings. He’s bounced around, done some different things with starting and being in the 'pen. To have [Bubba] in a situation like that, where he can go out to the 'pen, work on things at the big league level and be here to learn from the guys up here, learn from the staff and players and get feedback from the Major League game is going to be really important for him and for us.”
It might not be the most intuitive move, given that Chandler has only started this season with Triple-A Indianapolis, but if the Pirates are using Ashcraft as an example, the rookie right-hander has definitely grown in the Majors.
“I can't speak for Bubba specifically, but for me, I think it made me a better pitcher and will continue to make me a better pitcher because it's different,” Ashcraft said. “You grow doing one thing your entire life, and the game kind of falls into some sort of monotony. Having something like that where you're forced to be in a different role, something that's unfamiliar, you respond one of two ways. You either compete your tail off or you don't.
“Knowing Bubba, the person that he is, he's an unbelievable competitor. I have no doubt in my mind that it will be good for him.”
Chandler -- who will turn 23 on Sept. 14 -- got off to a fast start this season, but he has struggled with command the last few months, resulting in a 5-6 record with a 4.05 ERA over 100 innings with Triple-A Indianapolis.
He has pitched to a 5.96 ERA since the start of June, walking 13.1% of his batters faced with a 1.77 WHIP. Chandler has still been able to rack up strikeouts in that time (21.2%), but those struggles almost certainly pushed back his promotion date. The original plan was to slowly build him up this season to help manage his workload, like they did in 2024 with Paul Skenes. The goal was to have Chandler fully stretched out in May, but a June swoon happened shortly after that seemingly altered the callup calculus.
Despite those recent struggles, a promotion always seemed likely, especially after the Pirates traded Bailey Falter this Trade Deadline, with general manager Ben Cherington citing a desire to give opportunities to pitchers who could be part of their 2026 rotation plans.
Chandler obviously fits this bill. Anchored by a high-90s fastball that MLB Pipeline grades as a 70 (on the 20-80 scouting scale), the 2021 third-round Draft pick has one of the best pitch mixes in the Minors, flipping breaking sliders, curveballs and a changeup, all of which grade between a 50-60. When he is on his game, that stuff is as lethal as any pitcher in the game, moving either east to west or north to south.
Chandler is positioned to be at the forefront of the Pirates’ young pitching core alongside Skenes, Jared Jones and Ashcraft. It’ll be a new challenge now, but Ashcraft is confident he’s up for it.
“One thing for me that really helped was leaning on the guys around me, and Bubba does a really good job at that,” Ashcraft said. “Has since I've met him. It's certainly going to be different, but I have no doubt in my mind that he's going to be really daggone good."