Pittsburgh Pirates Pinch Pennies While Talent Rots in AAA: Bubba Chandler Victim of MLB’s Super Two Rule

The Pirates are 100% in cost-control mode right now, and Bubba Chandler is the latest casualty. The 22-year-old pitcher is dominating Triple-A hitters, but the team continues to leave him in the minors. This isn’t about development. It’s about money. And everyone knows it.

What Is MLB’s Super Two Rule?

The Super Two rule allows players with between two and three years of service time to reach arbitration early—if they’re in the top 22% of service time in that group. That means they get four years of arbitration instead of three, boosting their earnings significantly.

Teams like the Pirates delay call-ups by a few weeks to avoid this. The date varies slightly year to year, but it’s typically in early-to-mid June. That’s why Chandler is still stuck in Indianapolis despite having a 1.91 ERA, .168 opponent average, and 13.4 K/9 across his last five starts.

How Much Will It Cost Bubba Chandler?

If the Pirates delay his call-up past the Super Two cutoff, Chandler could lose millions in arbitration earnings over the next several years. In MLB, players become eligible for salary arbitration after three years of service time—unless they qualify as a Super Two, which gives them a fourth year.

Arbitration lets a player negotiate a raise based on performance rather than accepting the league minimum. Over four years, that can mean an extra $10–20 million, depending on how well the player performs. That’s real money the Pirates are avoiding—not because they can’t afford it, but because they don’t want to pay it.

Why Won’t the Pirates Call Up Bubba Chandler?

Oh my god –

Bubba Chandler just hit 101.5mph on this strikeout

Yes, this would at 102mph pic.twitter.com/NABRerKYpo

— Christian ✞ (@CWolfPGH) April 13, 2025

• They claim it’s for “development,” but his stats say otherwise.
• Other pitchers with worse numbers have already been promoted.
• This is a textbook case of service time manipulation.

The Pirates are protecting their payroll instead of improving their rotation. It’s short-term thinking dressed up as strategy. And it’s hurting their chances this season.

How Does This Affect the Team’s Future?

Chandler knows what’s going on. So does the rest of the clubhouse. When a front office delays a promotion to save money, it signals to players that performance doesn’t matter—control does. That’s a bad message to send when you’re trying to build something long-term.

It also impacts whether young players will want to sign long-term extensions. Why should Chandler or anyone else commit early when the organization shows it’s willing to game the system to suppress earnings?

Do the Pirates Have a History of Doing This?

Yes. This isn’t new. The Pirates have routinely delayed the promotions of top prospects to maintain team control. It’s a pattern, and it’s part of why the franchise hasn’t been relevant in October for over a decade.

Fans keep paying. The league keeps profiting. But the Pirates keep punting on the present to squeeze a few more dollars from the future.

Should MLB Change the Rules?

Many argue the Super Two rule should be scrapped entirely. It incentivizes teams to manipulate rosters and delay talent, which undercuts competitiveness. Chandler is just the latest name on a long list of players affected by it—Kris Bryant, George Springer, and others went through the same delay tactics early in their careers. Until the rule change, teams get unjustly richer as players lose out on earnings.