Pirates Stand Pat In Power Rankings Amidst Frustrating Offseason
After going 76-86 for a second straight season, there was some optimism the Pittsburgh Pirates could make some moves to try and take the next step toward snapping a nine-year playoff drought.
Instead, Pittsburgh has remained relatively quiet, with its only moves being trading for left-handed hitting first baseman Spencer Horwitz, signing left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson and bringing back franchise icon Andrew McCutchen.
With the Pirates not doing much to improve the offense or bullpen, they landed at No. 24 in Joel Reuter's power rankings for Bleacher Report.
"With Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller and Jared Jones soon to be joined by top prospects Bubba Chandler, Thomas Harrington and Braxton Ashcraft, the Pirates have a collection of controllable young pitchers that stacks up to any in baseball," Reuter writes. "That makes it all the more frustrating that the front office has done nothing to upgrade the offense, aside from acquiring 27-year-old Spencer Horwitz to play first base."
With the tandem of Paul Skenes and Jared Jones coming off of impressive first seasons in the big leagues and top prospects like Bubba Chandler and Thomas Harrington waiting in the wings, one imagined Pittsburgh would have made an effort to improve their offense and bullpen.
Pittsburgh's offense was among baseball's worst, ranking in the bottom 10 in nearly every major hitting stat while its bullpen boasted the fourth-highest ERA and was tied for the second-most blown leads in the ninth inning.
With the Pirates being a young team, it's fair to assume their young players could improve in 2025. While that's certainly a possibility, banking on that is a risky proposition.
Had Pittsburgh added a proven bat or two, it'd have a much better chance of being a threat in the National League Central. Instead, they largely stood pat and the Pirates' hope of making the playoffs for the first time since 2015 feels like an uphill climb once again.
