PITTSBURGH -- At one point this offseason, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington laid out the Pirates’ options for the fifth spot in their rotation. Jordan Lyles, who wound up winning the job, was “Plan A.” An opener, which the Bucs have discussed but never put into play, was “Plan D.”

As for Plans B and C? They’re about to join the rotation at the same time.

Left-hander Steven Brault will start for the Pirates against the Rangers on Tuesday, manager Clint Hurdle announced after Saturday’s 6-4 win over the A’s, and right-hander Nick Kingham will pitch on Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park.

The Pirates’ rotation is without right-hander Chris Archer (right thumb inflammation) and Opening Day starter Jameson Taillon (right elbow flexor strain), so they stocked their bullpen and selected Brault and Kingham -- both of whom were developed as starters -- to fill the void.

“Obviously this season has been -- there’s a word for it, starts with ‘cluster.’ It’s been tough, man,” Brault said. “We’ve lost a lot of guys, a lot of key guys that we want to get back as soon as possible, obviously. But Nick and I are going to hit the ground running with this.”

It’s unclear how long Brault and Kingham will remain in the rotation, however. Taillon’s spot could be available for nearly two months, as he will have to build his arm back up after being shut down for four weeks. The other spot may be temporary. Archer has resumed throwing on flat ground, but he might need to test his thumb by facing live hitters before he is ready to start in a big league game again.

“This club has continued to be resilient. A big part of it has been the starting pitching,” Huntington said on Sunday. “We’re going to have to find a way to score more runs. We’re going to have to figure out a way to cover those nine innings and keep our opponents’ run totals down. Trevor Williams and [Joe] Musgrove and Nick Kingham and Steven Brault are going to have to step up, and we’re going to have to cover some innings in the middle. And it’s going to be a challenge.

 “But we’ve already faced a ton of adversity, and this club continues to fight and fight its way to .500 -- and now hopefully push above it.”

Kingham and Brault have mostly struggled while working infrequently out of the bullpen. Kingham has allowed nine runs on 13 hits and six walks while striking out 13 in 12 2/3 innings over eight appearances. Brault has given up eight runs on 10 hits and four walks with 11 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings over only four appearances.

Brault showed some reason for optimism in his last relief appearance on Tuesday, when his fastball touched 95.6 mph as he struck out three in two scoreless innings against the Rangers. This will be his first Major League start since April 27, 2018.

“I think I’ve been able to make a lot of adjustments, which I think are going to help me a lot moving forward. Hopefully that continues,” Brault said. “It’s going to be good. I have a lot of faith in Nick and I. We’ve both been working really hard. It’ll be fun.”

Kingham got off to a strong start in Pittsburgh’s rotation last season. He pitched seven nearly perfect innings in his Major League debut and posted a 3.82 ERA over his first six starts, but he recorded a 6.66 ERA over his next six starts before being sent back to Triple-A. The Pirates put Kingham, who is out of Minor League options, in their bullpen to begin this season.

“Baseball’s a crazy sport. Definitely the circumstances are not ideal, with people going down and people getting shifted around and everything. But the opportunity’s presented itself and they’ve handed me the ball,” Kingham said. “I’m going to do my best and do what I can to come out on top at the end of the day.”

Hurdle noted before Saturday’s game that the Pirates were adding a handful of relievers who can pitch multiple innings if necessary -- and it may be, considering Brault and Kingham have spent more than a month outside of a starter’s typical routine. Francisco Liriano, Tyler Lyons, Michael Feliz and Dovydas Neverauskas are among the relievers who can work more than one inning, and Hurdle has shown a willingness in the past to stretch closer Felipe Vazquez past three outs when the situation calls for it.