CHICAGO — Plenty of innings remain to be covered for the rest of the 2025 MLB season. Don Kelly and his staff are currently figuring out the best way to meet that challenge.

To say the Pirates pitching staff has been through a rough stretch as of late would be putting it mildly. The unit entered Friday boasting MLB’s second-worst ERA (7.37) and fWAR (minus-0.2) in the month of August.

“We have to make some changes,” Kelly said Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field. “We have some things to find out. We’re going to put some guys in positions to be successful here.”

The struggles begin with the starting rotation, which has logged just 55 2/3 innings this month, the third-lowest total in MLB. Opposing teams are batting .302 in August against Pirates starters, who boast a 5.89 WHIP, second worst in MLB over that stretch.

Their inability to go deep into ballgames has created even more struggles for the bullpen, which entered Friday with an MLB-worst 7.78 ERA this month. Part of the problem is overuse, as Pirates relievers had logged 56 2/3 innings throughout that stretch, more than any bullpen in baseball — and their own starting rotation.

The plan to address these woes starts with reshuffling the deck. On Friday morning, the club recalled left-hander Evan Sisk and right-hander Colin Holderman from Triple-A Indianapolis. Right-hander Cam Sanders was optioned back to Triple-A, and left-hander Ryan Borucki was designated for assignment to clear room for the duo on the active roster.

“It’s always tough to go through,” Kelly said of DFA’ing Borucki, who has been a part of the club’s bullpen in each of the past three seasons. “He gave so much to the Pirates. But we’re excited to have Holdy and Sisk back.”

Pirates fans are more than familiar with Holderman. A reliable high-leverage arm for the front half of last season, the 29-year-old started to struggle last July and hasn’t recovered since. He returned to the major leagues with an 0-1 record and 9.00 ERA over 15 innings with the Pirates in 2025.

Sisk is a newcomer. One of the two players acquired last month from the Royals in exchange for fellow southpaw Bailey Falter, he will likely be one of the primary left-handed options out of the bullpen for the remainder of the year. Despite Sisk boasting just five games of MLB experience, Kelly said the Pirates feel confident enough to allow him to cover multiple innings of relief if needed.

Sisk, meanwhile, is simply open to any opportunity his new club provides.

“I’m pretty excited to be here,” Sisk said. “The Pirates took a chance on me at the deadline. I’m ready to get going.”

Bullpen roles will only be part of the story this weekend in the Windy City. The Pirates will also have to figure out who will start on the mound in the series finale on Sunday. The game lines up to be Andrew Heaney’s start day, but Kelly indicated a change involving the veteran left-hander could be on the horizon.

“We’re still tackling all of that,” Kelly said. “I’ll announce that as soon as we can.”

Other starting alternatives are tough to find.

Johan Oviedo is unable to be recalled until Aug. 19 due to being optioned after his one inning of work on Aug. 4. Thomas Harrington was recently placed on the seven-day injured list due to a groin issue. Hunter Barco last pitched on the Wednesday, meaning he would only have three days of rest if called upon for Sunday. And, last but not least, Bubba Chandler is still slated to start Saturday for Triple-A Indianapolis.

With an already exhausted bullpen and two young starters who have already exceeded their career highs in innings pitched slated to start Friday (Braxton Ashcraft) and Saturday (Mike Burrows), Kelly’s pitching staff will likely have more than a few tough hurdles ahead in the Windy City.

“The last 14 days have been tough,” Kelly said. “The innings [for Ashcraft and Burrows], we have to be mindful of that. We have to be mindful of the ‘pen, too. … That’s the challenge in filling the innings. We have to find a way to put them in the best position possible.”