What It Means:

The Pirates are willing to think outside the box to fill their fifth rotation spot left vacant by Chris Archer (neck surgery). Brault dealt with a shoulder strain in the spring and Kuhl is coming back from Tommy John surgery, so the pairing makes sense. Brault recorded a career-worst 5.16 ERA over 113 1/3 innings (19 starts) last season.

numberFire's models expect Brault to record a 4.81 ERA and 1.44 WHIP with 37 strikeouts and 19 walks in 43 innings this season.