Pirates Projected To Miss Playoffs Again
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After a disappointing 2024 season, this offseason felt like it was make-or-break for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
With pitchers and catchers set to report next week, Pittsburgh hasn't done much to move the needle. With the Pirates mainly opting to stand pat outside of trading right-handed starting pitcher Luis Ortiz to the Cleveland Guardians for left-handed hitting first baseman Spencer Horwitz, the odds they manage to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2015 feels slim barring numerous young players stepping up and other veteran players bounding back.
The numbers back that up. PECOTA projected the Pirates to finish in fourth place in the National League Central with a 75-87 record. Pittsburgh only finished ahead of the Cincinnati Reds, who it projected would go 74-88. PECOTA also projected the Chicago Cubs to win the division with a record of 92-70 and be the only team in the NL Central to finish the 2025 season with a winning record.
Pittsburgh has gone 76-86 in back-to-back seasons.
Going 75-87 and missing the playoffs for a 10th straight year could spell doom for the current Pirates regime. The Pirates were in the thick of the playoff race before it went 8-19 in August, effectively ending their playoff hopes. Overall, Pittsburgh is 292-414 with Derek Shelton as manager and Ben Cherington as general manager.
At the very least, Pittsburgh needs to take a step forward and be vying for a playoff spot heading into the final month of the season. That would show progress and give some hope the Pirates could be close to turning the corner. A full season of Paul Skenes and Jared Jones and other young players like Nick Gonzales stepping up can help, but is that enough to help a flawed team that didn't do much to address their biggest needs this offseason.?
That's what Pittsburgh is hoping for, but if its season goes similarly to the last two, it'd be hard to say that it was surprising after it chose to mostly stand pat this offseason.
