The Pirates were 54-52 on August 3 before a ten-game losing streak tanked their hopes of contention, and the Bucs ultimately finished with the same 76-86 record as they had in 2023. Amidst some larger questions about how well the rebuild is progressing, there will be a clear focus on upgrading the lineup this winter.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Bryan Reynolds, OF: $88MM through 2030 (includes $2M buyout of $20MM club option for 2031)
- Mitch Keller, SP: $69.5MM through 2028
- Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B: $43MM through 2029 (includes $6MM buyout of $12MM club option for 2030)
- Isiah Kiner-Falefa, IF: $7.5MM through 2025 (Blue Jays covering roughly $1.22MM as per the terms of their July 2024 trade)
2025 financial commitments: $41.5MM
Total future commitments: $208MM
Option Decisions
- Marco Gonzales, SP: $15MM club option, no buyout
Arbitration-Eligible Players (projections from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
- Dennis Santana (4.126): $1.8MM
- David Bednar (4.076): $6.6MM
- Ben Heller (3.165): $1MM
- Connor Joe (3.136): $3.2MM
- Johan Oviedo (3.079): $1.5MM
- Bryan De La Cruz (3.056): $4MM
- Joey Bart (3.020): $1.8MM
- Colin Holderman (2.144): $1.4MM
- Bailey Falter (2.138): $2.8MM
- Non-tender candidates: Joe, De La Cruz, Heller
Free Agents
Paul Skenes lived up to the hype, wowing the baseball world with a 1.99 ERA over 133 innings and looking all the world like a franchise player. Though he was somewhat overshadowed by Skenes and spent almost eight weeks on the injured list due to a lat strain, Jared Jones also had an impressive rookie season. Behind these two star rookies, Mitch Keller was his usual solid self, Bailey Falter pitched well in his first full season as a Pirate, and Luis L. Ortiz had a lot of success after moving from the bullpen back into the rotation at midseason.
Since Marco Gonzales' club option won't be exercised, this group stands as the Pirates' provisional starting five heading into Spring Training. However, Johan Oviedo will also be healthy after missing all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Down on the farm, top-100 prospects Bubba Chandler, Thomas Harrington, and Braxton Ashcraft are all knocking on the door for their MLB debuts, and other pitching prospects like Mike Burrows (who did toss his first 3 1/3 big league innings in 2024), Hunter Barco, and Anthony Solometo aren't far behind.
In short, Pittsburgh might soon become Pitch-burgh, with all of these young, controllable, and (except for Keller) inexpensive arms either in the majors or coming up the pipeline. Developing this much promising starting pitching is no small thing, and with Skenes leading the way, general manager Ben Cherington can certainly point to the Pirates' rotation as the key to the team's rebuilding efforts.
However, this rebuild has now resulted in six straight losing seasons, with the last five coming under Cherington's watch. While nobody expected Rome to be built in a day, the last two years have shown just enough promise to leave Pittsburgh fans disappointed when things fizzled out, and left wondering when exactly the Bucs will be turning the corner towards real contention.
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Blackpink in the area
Pirates biggest need i think is a lefty hitting center fielder. A deal involving Jarren Duran and Bubba Chandler could make sense for both teams. The Red Sox have too many lefty hitters and could use high upside pitching.
metsin4
Duran isn’t getting traded. He’s a top ten player in baseball.
Blackpink in the area
He had 1 really good year and let’s not forget he made some stupid public comments. Roman Anthony is a top 10 overall prospect.
letitbelowenstein
Who cares about the “comments”? Get over it.
Blackpink in the area
I don’t really care but it’s something to consider. But like I said Anthony is a top prospect the number 3 overall according to MLB.com and the Red Sox have too many lefty hitters. So feel free to focus on that.
TheMan 3
correction, their biggest need is overhauling their entire front office and field manager positions because nothing will change until all are gone
Unclemike1525
Hey they just upgraded their analytics dept. from a Commodore 64 to Commodore 128. Baby Steps man, Baby Steps.
EM41
The Pirates biggest need is an owner who is committed to building a winning organization, not one who is content with mediocrity and revenue sharing
Samuel
Have written a lot about them. Disappointed in the rebuild- both the players and the development of them.
Pitchers are OK. The team strength. But not really strong enough to seriously compete. But it’s the position players that have me scratching my head.
It’s easier to find and develop position players rather than pitchers. Their position players are a mish mosh. Defense is not strong up the middle. Hitting is not especially good. But what sticks out to me is speed…..the only guy that has it is Cruz, but he’s not a very good baserunner. Maybe Nick Gonzales can run some. The Pirates come off as a station to station team, which doesn’t help when they don’t hit much and play home games in a big park:
23’rd in BA
26’th in OBP
27’th in SLG
27’th n OPS
I don’t think stats take into account the intangibles, such as how speed changes a game not only on the field, but how opposing managers have to adjust for it. But the Pirates intangibles / Baseball IQ is at least as bad as their stats.
With the young Brewers, Francona going to the Reds, and John Mozeliak being phased out of St. Louis, the Pirates will be fighting to stay out of last place for years to come.
TerryTurnbuckle
The pirates will never win a World Series in our lifetime. You can have a kid born tonight and it will never see them in it. That kids kid won’t either. Pretty much the worst run and worst overall team ever.