Pirates Aren't Giving Up on Pitching Coach: Should Fans?
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates pitching staff has had some highs and some lows in 2026, but overall, it hasn't reached the potential fans expected.
Bill Murphy is in his first season as the Pirates' pitching coach, joining in October 2025 after five seasons as a pitching coach with the Houston Astros and replacing Oscar Marin, whom the Pirates let go.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington spoke glowingly of Murphy on The Pirates Insider Show on 93.7 The Fan and how he's grown in his role over the past year, giving the franchise a much better organized pitching program and strategy.
“We’re very lucky to have Murph’ in his position as the major league pitching coach," Cherington said. "He’s really highly competent, incredibly hard worker; he’s the right person for the job. We have had some other changes in the organization, and there will be opportunities for us to strengthen that as we get into the fall.”
How the Pirates Pitchers Have Fared in 2026
The Pirates came into 2026 with high hopes, mostly based on their pitching staff, which was excellent in 2025.
Pittsburgh led MLB with 19 shutouts in 2025, while ranking in the top 10 in numerous categories, including the seventh-lowest ERA (3.76), as they combined a promising starting rotation and a strong bullpen.
National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes led a rotation with the likes of promising rookies in Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler, veteran Mitch Keller and the return of Jared Jones.
The Pirates rotation has combined for a 5.03 ERA through five months of 2026, with almost all of the pitchers regressing.
Pirates Starting Pitcher ERA 2025 to 2026
Pitcher | 2025 ERA (Innings Pitched) | 2026 ERA (IP) |
|---|---|---|
Braxton Ashcraft | 2.71 (69.2) | 3.59 (160.1) |
Bubba Chandler | 4.02 (31.1) | 4.26 (131.0) |
Jared Jones | 4.14 (121.2) (2024) | 4.83 (72.2) |
Mitch Keller | 4.19 (176.2) | 5.29 (115.2) |
Paul Skenes | 1.97 (187.2) | 3.79 (145.0) |
Skenes hasn't been anywhere near as effective and has almost doubled his ERA, in the midst of a three-month slump, his first in the major leagues.
Keller struggled after a strong start and suffered a season-ending injury in early August, while Jones is still working things through after returning from internal brace surgery on his right elbow.
Ashcraft has been the Pirates' best pitcher, earning an All-Star nod, while Chandler is working through some growing pains in his first full season in the major leagues.
The bullpen was the bigger issue for the Pirates, particularly early on, as they struggled to protect leads or give the offense a chance to make a comeback.
Pittsburgh went from one of the better bullpens in 2025 to one of the worst quite quickly, and they missed many chances for easy wins earlier in the season.
Justin Lawrence and Dennis Santana both regressed massively, and the Pirates designated them both for assignment, while Isaac Mattson hasn't shown the same stuff he did in 2025 and has bounced between MLB and Triple-A.
Pittsburgh's drop in pitching quality resulted in frustrations from fans, especially with how improved the offense was in the first half of the season.
Is there Hope for Murphy in the Future?
The Pirates are in a tough spot right now, 67-71 overall and six games back in the NL Wild Card race heading into September.
Pittsburgh is likely set for another season without playoff baseball, the 11th year in a row doing so, and also their eighth straight losing season, both of which would be the second-longest streaks of any MLB team.
The Pirates have improved their pitching staff overall, especially their bullpen, with four right-handers joining at the trade deadline: Lake Bachar from the Miami Marlins, Camilo Doval from the New York Yankees, Luke Weaver from the New York Mets and Kirby Yates from the Los Angeles Angels.
Pittsburgh's bullpen was one of the best in baseball in August, with pitchers filling their respective roles, keeping leads secure and earning wins.
Left-hander Mason Montgomery has thrived and is now the new closer, working with Murphy and adding a valuable two-seamer to his pitch mix, while fellow left-hander Gregory Soto and right-hander Yohan Ramírez have improved throughout the season.
The starting pitching has been inconsistent, with Aschraft's success and Chandler's improvement as positives, but Skenes' regression and Jones' struggles are more concerning.
Cherington praised Murphy and the pitching group for syncing the Triple-A and Pirates' pitching staffs, preparing rookies for the next step and for pitching at the major league level.
The Pirates' season hasn't gone the way they hoped, and offseason changes could result in new faces in the front office/coaching staff.
It'll be up to whoever decides on the future of the pitching staff to determine if the issues for the Pirates' struggles were due to personnel or how the coaching staff approached the season as a whole.
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.