Pittsburgh Pirates — FINALLY Moving the Needle

The Pirates frustrate me, but it looks like they are FINALLY taking the steps forward that Pittsburgh fans – and I – have been begging for.

Pitching and Youth Movement

When you talk about the Pirates, you have to start with pitching. And their pitching is GOOD. But then again, when you have a rotation anchored by Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, and Jared Jones, things are generally going to go well for you on that side of the ball. Not to mention, they acquired Jose Urquidy and their #2 prospect, Bubba Chandler will probably be joining the fray as well. I don’t think it’s exaggeration to say that Pittsburgh could have the best rotation in baseball in 2026.

Their glaring problem, however, has been their offense. Bottom of the barrel. Dead last in run support. Dead last in slugging percentage. Struggling to score 3 runs a game over the last two seasons. It doesn’t matter how good your pitching staff is – it’s pretty demoralizing and embarrassing for them when they’re constantly on the wrong end of 1-0 or 2-1 games. For reference, Paul Skenes has made 55 career starts and only allowed 76 runs. That’s 1.38 runs/game. That means the Pirates offense should be able to get him a win with just two runs, right? Yet, somehow Skenes is 21-13 in 55 career starts (10-10 in 2025). ALOT of undeserving losses and no decisions for a guy who has two All-Star appearances, and a Cy Young award in his first 2 seasons, to go with a 1.76 career ERA. Baseball fans everywhere were screaming that Skenes deserved better, and it seems like ownership may have FINALLY listened.

Offseason Focus

This offense needed bats, and the Jolly Roger finally got some new deck hands. Marcell Ozuna and Brandon Lowe are both capable of 30 home runs, and Ryan O’Hearn is a high average guy with some pop. Not to mention, they got Jhostynxon Garcia from the Red Sox. He hasn’t had but about a week’s worth of time at the big league level, but he too is capable of 20 homers. The Buccos’ front office finally did the right thing and put some bats in the lineup to take pressure off of Bryan Reynolds.

Biggest Needs Entering 2026

• Impact bats — especially right-handed power
• Bullpen refinement for late innings

Have They Addressed It?

YES, YES, YES! They didn’t go get one big piece like a Pete Alonso or a Kyle Tucker, but they did add a handful of impact bats that can definitely create traffic and hit the ball out of the ballpark. Plus, baseball’s #1 prospect, Konnor Griffin is in AA and expected to debut at some point this season. After one season of pro ball, Griffin is turning into a true 5-tool player. He’s 19-years old, 6’4”, has plus-plus speed and power, and is a solid defender at two positions, though he seems to be stronger as a shortstop going forward. This guy will add even more excitement to a lineup that is finally on the up.

Our Take

Pittsburgh’s future is very bright if the front office chooses to see it, but 2026 remains about cultivating growth and incremental wins. A surprise divisional wildcard slot feels a bit premature, but not impossible.

The Pirates haven’t been that far off in the last two seasons. It just felt that way because of minimal offense. 71 wins in 2025, 76 in 2024. In those years, 83 wins and 86 wins have been good enough to reach the playoffs. Just saying.

Even if the Pirates’ new look offense doesn’t light the world on fire, there’s no way it’ll be worse. A few more close games go your way; starters tally a few more wins? Who knows? We’ve seen 10+ win improvements between seasons. I’ll give you even more hope, Pirates fans. You know who else has made the playoffs consistently with bad offensive numbers? The Cleveland Guardians. The blueprint is there. To quote JP from one of my favorite baseball movies, “Angels in the Outfield”…

…it could happen!