The Pittsburgh Pirates are treading water. They are 75-75 at the time of writing this, and while that means they're having a better season than usual, they are falling well short of expectations. Injuries to key players over an extended period and underperformance from others have contributed to their struggles, but the Pirates' front office isn't without blame either. The front office made plenty of missteps , even in hindsight, that have caused a significant letdown in a 2026 campaign.
Let's make one thing clear: nobody should have reasonably expected the Pirates to go out and trade for a higher-end relief pitcher in May. However, doing nothing until around the trade deadline is inexcusable.
By the end of May, the Pirates' bullpen was in a bad place. Arms they relied on and were effective in 2025, like Dennis Santana , Isaac Mattson , and Justin Lawrence , were struggling badly. Yohan Ramirez and Mason Montgomery also had ERAs over 4.50 at the time. Rookies Evan Sisk and Wilber Dotel had been the Pirates' most effective bullpen arms. At the start of July, the Pirates had a team ERA of 4.83 in the 7th inning or later, the seventh-highest mark in baseball.
The Pirates' attempts to remedy the bullpen until July were next to non-existent. Trading catcher Joey Bart to the Atlanta Braves for former friend Hunter Stratton , along with a few minor league depth signees, was about the extent of their bullpen acquisitions until the deadline. However, Stratton was their only addition who pitched in MLB.
It's not as if the Pirates haven't had success via waiver claims, or signing players with MLB experience to minor league contracts. That is how the Pirates netted the likes of Ryan Borucki in 2023, Dennis Santana in 2024, or Isaac Mattson in 2025. They didn't try to fix the worst part of the team for the first two to three months of the year until July, and that's part of the problem. There was no urgency until after the bullpen blew a handful of winnable games.
It might be beating a dead horse, but signing Marcell Ozuna is one of the biggest free agent mishaps by the Pirates in their storied history.
The Bucs signed the designated hitter to a one-year contract worth a guaranteed $12 million ($10.5 million base 2026 salary plus a $1.5 million buyout). The red flags were already flying high when the Pirates signed Ozuna. In 2025 with the Atlanta Braves, Ozuna hit .233/.355/.400 with a .334 wOBA and 112 wRC+. He also went yard 21 times, with a 14.3% BB%, and 24.3% K%.
Jul 28, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter Marcell Ozuna (24) hits an RBI single against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the eighth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Those numbers may not seem bad, but they pale in comparison to his .289/.364/.552 triple-slash, .388 wOBA, and 148 wRC+ he posted in 2024-2025. Ozuna hit 40 and 39 homers in each season, respectively. A hip injury, which Ozuna played through for most of the summer, affected his play in 2025. From the beginning of June through the end of the season, he only had an 89 wRC+.
Ozuna's already declining production only fell further in 2026 . He turned in a meager .203/.286/.327 slashline, with a .276 wOBA, and 68 wRC+. He hit just eight home runs with a .124 isolated slugging percentage over 280 plate appearances. His walk rate dropped to 9.6%, while his K% rose to 28.6%. Despite the Pirates releasing Ozuna in the first week of August, his -1.0 fWAR is still tied for the second-lowest among designated hitters.
For a team that regularly runs a low payroll, the Bucs cannot take chances like this. Ozuna's $10.5 million 2026 salary made up about 10.5% of their Opening Day payroll . He took up more of the Pirates' Opening Day payroll than Bryce Harper took up of the Philadelphia Phillies ' Opening Day payroll. The Pirates have to be smart with their money, and this was the opposite of that .
The Pirates had plenty of confidence in most of their rotation going into this season, and for a good reason. Paul Skenes , Braxton Ashcraft , Bubba Chandler , and Mitch Keller were a quality 1-4. However, the fifth spot of the rotation was always questionable.
They opened the year with right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski as their last starter. It was their second attempt at making Mlodzinski a starting pitcher, and while it went better than it did in 2025, it also wasn't anything to be proud of either. He had a 4.30 ERA with only a 20% K% over nine starts and 44 innings through the end of May. He did have a solid 7.7% walk rate, but his 0.61 HR/9 certainly had some flukiness to it, given he also had a 92.1 MPH exit velocity.
The Pirates moved Mlodzinski back to the bullpen once Jared Jones returned from the injured list at the start of June. However, Mitch Keller 's effectiveness began to wane in mid-May. After posting a 6.65 ERA through his final ten starts of the year, the Pirates shut the veteran right-hander down with a major teres shoulder strain. That has put the Pirates' bullpen under even more strain than it already was.
Nobody expects their team's fifth starter to be an All-Star, but the Pirates ignoring adding a reliable back-end starter is coming back to haunt them, big time. The likes of Anthony Kay , Erick Fedde , and Foster Griffin are pitching like quality back-rotation arms this year, and were signed for less than $10 million in 2026. Peter Lambert and Walker Buehler have been reliable innings eaters for the Houston Astros and San Diego Padres , and were signed to minor league contracts. The Pirates also failed to address the back of the rotation at the deadline, despite a handful of back-end starters available at the deadline.
The Pirates' front office not only didn't do anything to address the bullpen until after the damage was done, but they also set them up for an uphill battle from the start of the year. During last year's trade deadline, they traded closing pitcher David Bednar to the New York Yankees for three prospects.
Bednar had an excellent rebound season in 2025. In 62.2 innings with the Pirates and Yankees, the Renegade pitched to a 2.30 ERA, 2.18 FIP, and 1.04 WHIP. He struck out over a third of opponents with a 34.3% K%, while only walking 7.6% of opponents. He also had an excellent 0.51 HR/9 ratio with a career-high 44.1% ground ball rate. GB% wasn't the only career-best he had in 2025. His ERA, K%, xFIP (2.70), and SIERA (2.53) were also career-bests.
Bednar has continued to be a lockdown closer in 2026 with the Yanks. In 63.1 innings, he owns a 2.70 ERA, with a 2.63 FIP, and 1.03 WHIP. He is carrying a strong 27.7% K% and 7% BB%, marking the fifth time in the last six seasons he's had at least a 20% K-BB%. Opponents are batting below the Mendoza line against Bednar at .199. Plus, he has career-lows in exit velocity (85.7 MPH), and barrel rate (4.8%), with a 50.7% GB%.
Through the end of July, the Pirates had a 3.88 ERA in the 9th inning or later. While that certainly isn't bad, it ranked in the middle of the pack at 15th. However, the Yankees up to that point of the season were second in MLB and first in the American League with a 2.59 ERA in the same innings. Sure, while the Pirates now have Mason Montgomery , who has become a lights out closer, Bednar would have been highly useful in April, May, and June.
Main Photo: Charles LeClaire- Imagn Images
