Bullben now a strength but rotation will cause Bucs’ demise
The bullpen has been a sore spot all season for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Ben Cherington did his best to address that glaring weakness with a series of moves before the trade deadline.
Good job by him.
The problem is the Pirates have fallen off in a few other key areas and there was only so much Pittsburgh’s GM could do as the clock ticked down.
The bullpen has much hope now with the addition of Luke Weaver from the Mets — as was suggested in this column right after the All-Star break — as a closer option along with former closers Camilo Doval from the Yankees and veteran Kirby Yates from the Angels, and Lake Bachar from the Marlins.
The hard-throwing Doval, a right-hander who tied then-Pirate David Bednar for the NL saves lead just three years ago, has been pegged by some as the new closer but he’s been very inconsistent in 2026. That role would be better off split by right-hander Weaver and lefty Mason Montgomery with Doval and left-hander Gregory Soto as set-up men.
Bachar and Yohan Ramirez should fill the middle reliever roles.
Wilber Dotel is the top remaining long reliever with Carmen Mlodzinski headed for the starting rotation now that Mitch Keller is out for the season.
Speaking of Keller, the Pirates’ starting rotation, thought to be a strength at the beginning of the season, has been erratic and how it will fare down the stretch is a mystery.
The Pirates offense, with its ineffectiveness against left-handed pitchers, could use a boost from another right-handed bat, especially with the failure of Marcell Ozuna, who the team was reportedly ready to part ways with on Wednesday.
Don’t blame Cherington for his failure to address these needs. The man can only do so much when there are multiple leaks to plug. He did his best to try to solve the most glaring weakness.
The Pirates hitting is somehow still surviving despite a rash of injuries with Ryan O’Hearn joining rookie sensation Konnor Griffin as key players who won’t return until well into September. Bryan Reynolds, Nick Gonzales, Jake Mangum, Spencer Horwitz, Brandon Lowe, Endy Rodriguez and Esmerlyn Valdez have all taken turns sparking the offense.
If they Pirates fall short of the playoffs — they were fourth in the fight for the last Wild Card spot heading into Wednesday’s games, trailing Arizona (3.5 games), San Diego (2.5) and Miami (1.5) — it will be because of their starting rotation.
There is no indication that Paul Skenes, whose 100 mph fastball has been MIA for months, will suddenly revert to his 2025 Cy Young form. He’s 9-9 with a 3.90 ERA and although he still has 156 strikeouts in 124.2 innings he’s been a disappoint for a staff ace.
In a radio spot on WMBS a few weeks ago, host Chuck Durso and I discussed why we felt Skenes has had such a down year, and at this point I agree with Durso who put the blame on Skenes pitching in the World Baseball Classic before spring training. Others have felt the same, including Associated Press sports writer John Perrotto who echoed that opinion on WFAN this week.
If it is due to a dead arm, or at least one not nearly as lively as last year, there likely is no sudden, dramatic turnaround on the horizon. This current Paul Skenes is what you’re going to get the rest of the way in all probability.
As for the rest, it consists of four arms who are being taxed with the most MLB innings of their careers. Can this foursome hold up? It seems doubtful. Too many question marks.
Jared Jones (2-3, 402) showed his potential for a short stretch but doesn’t go deep enough into games, Braxton Ashcraft (11-4, 3.96) has sputtered several times since the All-Star break, Bubba Chandler has displayed flashes of his potential along with a dismal 61 walks in 110.1 innings, and Mlodzinski (6-3, 3.15) is a bit of an unknown as he goes back into the rotation, where he had success earlier in the season.
Keller (6-8, 5.29) was as inconsistent as the rest so his loss isn’t devastating other than for depth concernes.
Cherington did his job.
The Pirates’ chances to make the playoffs are now mainly in the hands of Skenes, Jones, Ashcraft, Chandler and Mlodzinski.
The feeling here is those collective five arms won’t be up to the task, especially with so many teams to climb over.
There will be no postseason for the 2026 Pirates.
However — and I know fans don’t want to hear this but I believe it to be true — next year sets up to be a different story.
Rob Burchianti is sports editor of the Herald-Standard and can be reached at rburchianti@heraldstandard.com