Bubba Chandler News: Promotion on tap, to pitch in bulk relief

The Pirates will select Chandler's contract from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday, and he's expected to be used in a bulk-relief role initially, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Chandler's long-awaited arrival to the majors will finally occur, though he won't be used as a traditional starter, at least not right away. Alex Stumpf of MLB.com likens the Pirates' expected usage of Chandler down the stretch to how they've deployed Braxton Ashcraft, who served as a multi-inning reliever before moving into the rotation earlier this month. Churning out fantasy value from Chandler could prove to be difficult in such a role, unless his ascension to the rotation occurs much quicker than Ashcraft's, or if he's deployed as more of a piggyback starter than a true reliever. Chandler has had an up-and-down season with Indianapolis, collecting a 4.05 ERA and 121:53 K:BB over an even 100 innings. He holds a 7.79 ERA and 17:12 K:BB across 17.1 frames in his last four outings with the Pirates' top minor-league affiliate.