The Pittsburgh Pirates have seemingly done everything in their power to anger the fanbase this season. Whether it's the removal of beloved Bucco Bricks (and subsequent shipment to a recycling facility without telling fans), or the addition of a 'Surfside' ad to the Clemente Wall, there has been no shortage of embarrassing moments for this Pirates team. They can add another to the list on Tuesday, as Bubba Chandler sits in the minor leagues for another day.
It's unclear what the Pirates are waiting for with Chandler – perhaps this has something to do with service-time manipulation. While contenders and pretenders alike are willing to take on a little extra payroll to do what's right, the Pirates are not. Chandler is the top-ranked prospect in all of baseball following the Red Sox promotion of Roman Anthony. Chandler is 2-1 with a 2.49 ERA in 12 starts with Triple-A Indianapolis this season.
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Pirates should be embarrassed by Brewers latest roster move
While some pundits would've expected Chandler to be the next man up (in this case quite literally) once Anthony got his call, that was not the case. Instead, Milwaukee Brewers prospect Jacob Misiorowski beat him to the punch. Misiorowski will start for the Brewers this week, and if he pitches well enough could be a staple in the rotation for a contending team. Misiorowski was 4-2 with a 2.13 ERA in 12 minor league starts this season.
While the Brewers are willing to do whatever it takes to win and are under similar constraints to the Pirates as it pertains to payroll, Pittsburgh's front office continues to sit on its hands, appearing far too conservative for a team wasting away Paul Skenes best and likely only years with the franchise.
Why Bubba Chandler deserves to be called up to Pittsburgh
FanSided's own Eric Cole wasn't shy about his thoughts on why the Pirates have yet to call up Chandler. It's all about the money.
"However, with many top prospects getting promoted to the big leagues by other teams and the Pirates actually not being embarrassing in the month of June, it really feels like Chandler should get called up soon. Pittsburgh may want until the back half of this month to do it to be "safe" when it comes to service time, but Chandler has nothing left to prove in the minors," Cole wrote, while also grilling the Pirates for blatantly limiting Chandler's income.
Eventually, Pittsburgh will have little choice but to call Chandler up to the major leagues, but it shouldn't take this kind of public pressure to do the right thing. Don Kelly has righted the ship some since the Pirates fired Derek Shelton. They ought to reward him – and Skenes for that matter – sooner rather than later.