Pirates Showing Faith in Pitching Coach For 2027
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates had success and failure with their pitching staff in 2026, and are hoping for a much better year in 2027.
Pirates pitching coach Bill Murphy completed his first season in the role after joining last offseason following four seasons as a Houston Astros pitching coach and replacing Oscar Marin, who spent six seasons in the role.
Murphy has the trust of Pirates general manager Ben Cherington, who spoke glowingly about his pitching coach at his end-of-season press conference and that he sees the pitching group improving continuously under his tutelage.
“This guy’s tireless. He wants to be great," Cherington said. "He wants the pitching staff to be great. We’ve done a lot of good things as a pitching staff. You look at, I think, we’re breaking or close to breaking a strikeout record as a team. I’ve seen a lot of good performances from individual pitchers, a lot of steps forward from the individual pitchers across the starting group and the bullpen group. So he’s clearly the right guy.
"He also walked into a situation that’s new. New pitchers, new information, new staff. Had some changes in the staff around him so I’m excited that this offseason is an opportunity to keep building the group around him, the pitching group around him.
"We’ve already gotten into that conversation with him, but yeah, this is a guy that wakes up wanting to be great, wanting the pitchers to be great. He’s incredibly competent, so love working with him, believe in what we’re going to accomplish together.”
Pirates Pitching Successes in 2026
Murphy joined on after reports of the Pirates' pitching staff wanting a different approach and take the next step to get better as a group.
The Pirates set a franchise record with 1,496 strikeouts, which were also the fifth-most in baseball in 2026.
Braxton Ashcraft had an incredible season, his first full MLB campaign as a starting pitcher, earning his first All-Star nod.
Jared Jones finished off the 2026 season incredibly well, earning National League Pitcher of the Month honors for September, after missing the first two months rehabbing from internal brace surgery.
Southpaw Mason Montgomery established himself as an elite closer in the final two months of the season and earned NL Relief Pitcher of the Month honors for September.
Yohan Ramírez also turned into a dominant middle reliever and could come through in many different situations.
The Pirates bullpen also greatly improved following the trade deadline, adding the likes of middle reliever Lake Bachar, setup man Luke Weaver and veteran Kirby Yates.
Pittsburgh relief pitchers posted the second-lowest BAA (.207) and second-fewest home runs allowed (13), fifth-highest strikeout rate (25.1%) and sixth-lowest WHIP (1.21).
Where the Pirates Pitchers Struggled This Season
While the Pirates did have some success stories, not everything went well for their pitching staff.
Paul Skenes followed up his 2025 National League Cy Young Award season and his sub-2.00 ERA his first two years by posting a 3.82 ERA In 2026, including a 4-9 record and a 4.56 ERA over his last 23 starts.
Mitch Keller also faltered this year, posting a 5.29 ERA and then going on the 60-day injured list with a right arm tear major muscle injury on Aug. 3.
The Pirates bullpen was also poor before the trade deadline, with the likes of Dennis Santana and Justin Lawrence being DFA'd and Isaac Mattson bouncing between MLB and Triple-A.
Pittsburgh also blew 19 saves and threw away leads in games, that had they won, would've given them a much better chance of making the postseason.
Murphy gets a second season with this pitching staff and will hope they can perform much better from the start than they did in 2026.
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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.