Former Indians Bae and Mlodzinski Continue Rehab Assignments with Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS – The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced that utilityman Ji Hwan Bae and right-handed relief pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski will continue their respective rehab assignments with the Indianapolis Indians as they open a six-game series at Toledo tonight. Bae and Mlodzinski are the second and third major league rehabbers assigned to Indy this season, following right-handed reliever Colin Holderman.

Bae, 24, was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strain of his left hip muscle on March 28 (retroactive to March 25). He began his rehab assignment with Single-A Bradenton on April 7 and went 2-for-3 with a double and RBI before being transferred to Indianapolis. Prior to being placed on the injured list, he appeared in seven spring games with the Pirates from Feb. 24-March 5 and hit .273 (3-for-11) with three runs, one RBI, four walks and two stolen bases.

The speedy utilityman was named Indianapolis’ Team MVP after appearing in 108 Triple-A games in 2022 and has played in 117 total games with Indy over the course of his career. Overall, he owns a .293 batting average (132-for-451), 90 runs, 26 doubles, six triples, nine home runs, 54 RBI and 32 stolen bases with the Indians.

Bae was originally signed by Pittsburgh as a non-drafted free agent out of Daegu, Republic of Korea. He had his contract first selected on Sept. 23, 2022, and made his MLB debut that night vs. Chicago (NL).

Mlodzinski, 25, was placed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation on March 28 (retroactive to March 25). He appeared in one game with Single-A Bradenton to begin his rehab assignment on April 5, allowing one run on two hits while striking out the side in his lone inning of work. He also appeared in five games with the Pirates during spring training, allowing five runs with five strikeouts in 4.2 innings.

The South Carolina native made his Triple-A debut with Indianapolis in 2021 and returned to the Circle City in 2023. In 21 career games with Indy, he is 2-3 with one save, a 3.14 ERA (10er/28.2ip) and 34 strikeouts.

Mlodzinski was selected by Pittsburgh in the first round (31st overall) of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of South Carolina (Columbia). He had his contract selected by Pittsburgh on June 16, 2023, and made his big-league debut that day at Milwaukee.

Indianapolis’ MLB rehab assignments are presented by Franciscan Health