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11:49am: The Cubs have officially activated Tucker from the injured list. He’s hitting cleanup and serving as the designated hitter today. In a corresponding move, veteran first baseman Carlos Santana has consented to be optioned. He’ll be on the team’s taxi squad for the playoffs next week, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. Santana is a free agent at season’s end.
10:16am: After spending more than three weeks on the injured list due to a calf strain, Kyle Tucker is back for the final regular season series of the year. The Cubs outfielder himself tells ESPN’s Jesse Rogers that he’s in the lineup today — his first game since Sept. 2. The team hasn’t formally announced the move or a corresponding transaction yet.
The Cubs have already clinched a postseason berth, but these final three games will give Tucker a tune-up for their return to October baseball. The impending free agent has had a terrific season overall but will end up playing in, at most, 136 of the team’s 162 games due primarily to this calf strain. He’s hitting .270/.381/.472 (139 wRC+) with 22 home runs, 25 doubles, four triples, 25 steals and a matching 14.7% walk rate and 14.7% strikeout rate.
Tucker’s offensive numbers would likely be even more impressive had he not suffered a hairline fracture in his hand back in June. He gutted it out and played through the injury, which only came to light nearly three months later, after it had healed. Tucker hit well in June but saw his numbers drop precipitously in July. There’s no definitive way to know how much the small fracture impacted him, but he surely wasn’t playing at 100% throughout the entirety of the summer.
While Tucker was on the shelf, the Cubs went with a regular outfield of Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki, the latter of whom had most frequently served as the team’s designated hitter. That alignment opened the door for top catching prospect Moisés Ballesteros to step into the designated hitter spot on a regular basis, and he’s stepped up as one of the team’s most productive hitters this month. The 21-year-old slugger has taken 42 plate appearances since Tucker went down and turned in a stout .314/.429/.571 batting line. Ballesteros has been so productive, in fact, that he may have hit his way onto Chicago’s postseason roster.
“Moisés is playing at a really high level,” manager Craig Counsell tells Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. “Where he’s hitting in the lineup should tell you a lot. He’s contributing offensively significantly. That’s real. That matters. Absolutely, we’re taking note of it.”
Ballesteros has batted fourth or fifth in each of his past ten games and hasn’t hit lower than sixth since being recalled from the minors prior to the team’s game on Sept. 12. The Cubs have shielded him from left-handed pitching, giving him only three plate appearances versus fellow southpaws. Presumably, if he were indeed to secure a spot on the playoff roster, he’d be utilized in a platoon capacity. With a full complement of Happ, Crow-Armstrong, Tucker and Suzuki ticketed for outfield/designated hitter work and Carson Kelly standing as the everyday catcher, Ballesteros probably wouldn’t be in the starting lineup much, but he could provide a potent left-handed bat off the bench.
The Nationals and former top prospect Orelvis Martinez have agreed to a minor league deal that’ll carry into the 2026 season, reports Andrew Golden of the Washington Post. Martinez was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays and subsequently released earlier in the month.
Still just 23 years old (24 in November), Martinez ranked among the sport’s top-100 prospects at Baseball America for four years from 2021-24. The slugging infielder posted huge numbers, belting a combined 86 home runs in 1481 plate appearances from 2021-23. His defensive home was always something of a question mark — he’s spent time at shortstop, third base and second base — but Martinez’s plus power and consistent production seemed to be setting the stage for a possible long-term role in the Toronto infield.
Things changed dramatically early in 2024, however, when Martinez received an 80-game ban for PED usage. He hit well down the stretch in a small sample after returning late last season in Triple-A (.304/.360/.522 in 50 plate appearances), but the 2025 season has been a disaster.
Martinez spent the entire season in Triple-A this year and looked like a shell of his former self. In 99 games, he took 394 plate appearances and mustered only a .176/.288/.348 batting line (73 wRC+). His 28.4% strikeout rate tied the highest mark of his career, and he averaged just 86.8 mph off the bat with a tepid 36.8% hard-hit rate. Though the Jays had given him plenty of run at shortstop and third base earlier in his career, he slid further down the defensive spectrum in ’25 and spent the vast majority of his time at second base (79 games) and designated hitter (14) with only a handful of appearances at the hot corner.
The Nats will provide Martinez with a fresh start next season. He’s a lottery ticket for Washington, but there’s no harm in bringing him aboard on a non-guaranteed deal to see what he looks like next spring. The Nats have Luis Garcia Jr. at second base, but he’s a non-tender candidate this offseason. Former first-rounder Brady House made his big league debut at the hot corner in 2025 but has yet to establish himself as a firm option there. Martinez’s shortstop days are seemingly behind him, but the Nats have CJ Abrams entrenched there anyhow. Martinez will compete for an opportunity next spring, and if he doesn’t break camp with the club he’ll head to Triple-A Rochester and give Washington some additional infield depth.
The Mets are mulling a promotion for pitching prospect Dylan Ross and could bring him up for his big league debut as soon as tomorrow, Mika Puma of the New York Post reports. SNY’s Andy Martino reported last week that Ross was in consideration for a big league look before season’s end.
The 25-year-old Ross was New York’s 13th-round pick in 2022. He’s elevated his prospect status considerably in 2025 with a dominant showing out of the bullpen across three minor league levels. The former Georgia Bulldog has tossed a combined 54 innings with a 2.17 ERA — including a 1.69 mark in 32 frames at the Triple-A level. Ross has fanned just under 36% of his opponents this season and kept nearly 55% of the batted balls against him on the ground. Command, or lack thereof, is his most notable flaw. He’s walked an ugly 14.7% of his opponents (17.3% in Triple-A).
Listed at 6’5″ and 251 pounds, Ross is a prototypical flamethrowing reliever. He’s averaged 96.8 mph on his four-seamer this season and can run the pitch up into triple digits. He complements that fiery heater with a splitter and cutter that both sit just under 90 mph, a slider that sits 87.5 mph and a seldom-used curveball in the low-80s. MLB.com ranks Ross 20th among Mets farmhands.
Ross underwent Tommy John surgery during his draft season at Georgia and needed a revision of that procedure in 2023. He only pitched one inning in the minors in 2024 and has all of 55 professional innings under his belt to date. However, due to his status as a college draftee who’s now been in professional ball for three full seasons, he’d be eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft this winter. Given his outstanding season in the minors and the power nature of his repertoire, it’s likely the Mets would add him to the 40-man roster in November to protect him from being selected anyhow — which only strengthens his case for a call to the majors late in the season.
New York’s bullpen has slipped over the past couple months. Mets relievers have a combined 4.18 ERA since the trade deadline, ranking 18th in the majors. Edwin Diaz, Tyler Rogers and Brooks Raley have all been excellent, but the acquisition of Ryan Helsley (7.58 ERA as a Met) has backfired and Ryne Stanek (7.50 ERA since Aug. 1) has struggled considerably. The Mets lost lefties A.J. Minter and Danny Young to lat surgery and Tommy John surgery, respectively, back in May. Setup man Reed Garrett was recommended for Tommy John surgery earlier this month.
That string of struggles and injuries has created plenty of uncertainty in the bullpen. There’d obviously be risk in carrying a 25-year-old rookie with subpar command on the team’s postseason roster — should they qualify — but the many of the more veteran options currently in the mix don’t exactly ooze confidence at the moment themselves.
Here are three things to keep an eye on headed into the final weekend of the regular season:
1. Playoff races still up for grabs:
Eight teams (the Blue Jays, Yankees, Mariners, Phillies, Brewers, Cubs, Dodgers, and Padres) have punched their tickets to October already. That leaves four spots up for grabs headed into the final weekend of the regular season. Here’s a quick overview of the teams still fighting for a spot, with playoff odds courtesy of FanGraphs:
2. Morton to suit up for Braves one last time:
It’s been a rough year for veteran right-hander Charlie Morton, who posted a 5.89 ERA in 32 appearances with the Orioles and Tigers and recently signed on with the Braves after being designated for assignment and released by Detroit. Morton has hinted at retirement repeatedly over the years, and some have suggested that his latest deal is an opportunity to retire as a member of the club that originally drafted him back in 2002 and the club with which he won a World Series in 2021. Morton has a 3.87 ERA with Atlanta across 124 starts, and his 125th start of his Braves career is scheduled for the club’s final game of the regular season against the Pirates on Sunday. He’ll pitch opposite Johan Oviedo, who has a 3.57 ERA in eight starts this year for Pittsburgh.
3. Will Manoah get claimed?
The Blue Jays made the decision to cut ties with right-hander Alek Manoah earlier this week, and now that he’s been designated for assignment, he’s available to the league’s other 29 clubs for nothing but the remainder of his salary. Of course, a claiming club would have to be willing to pay him his arbitration-level salary for the 2026 season as well. Manoah’s 2025 salary was $2.2MM, and he figures to make the same amount for 2026 if tendered a contract.
The upside Manoah offers is obvious, as he finished third in AL Cy Young voting during the 2022 season off the back of a 2.24 ERA in 196 1/3 innings of work. He struggled badly in 2023 with a 5.87 ERA and 6.01 FIP in 19 starts, however, and he’s made just five starts since then due to Tommy John surgery. Manoah is still just 27 years old and will hardly break the bank, making him one of the more intriguing late-season waiver possibilities in recent memory.
An awful May ensured the A's were headed for another losing season. They made arguably the biggest sell-side trade at the deadline, sending Mason Miller to San Diego for a prospect package headlined by potential franchise shortstop Leo De Vries. The A's have quietly been one of the best teams in the American League for the final two months of the season. They're in for a second straight offseason focused primarily on pitching. It's not an easy task while they're in a Triple-A home ballpark that plays as one of the most hitter-friendly venues in the game.
Guaranteed Contracts
2026 financial commitments: $45.75MM
Total future commitments: $168.5MM
Option Decisions
Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projected salaries will be added at a later date)
Non-tender candidates: Wynns, Waldichuk
Free Agents
For the second straight year, the A's go into the offseason with positive momentum despite finishing with a losing record. They've been a better second half team in both 2024 and '25. That alone probably doesn't hold a ton of predictive value, but it's fair to have more optimism next spring than it was last offseason.
It appears ownership is satisfied with the direction of the rebuild. The A's extended manager Mark Kotsay last offseason on a deal that runs at least through 2028. General manager David Forst is reportedly on an expiring deal. However, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported this morning that he's in talks with owner John Fisher about his future. Rosenthal suggests he could agree to at least a two-year extension that runs up to the team's expected opening of its Las Vegas ballpark.
They're on track to go into Vegas with a very good offense. Nick Kurtz has shredded major league pitching. Jacob Wilson is coming off the first of what should be multiple All-Star appearances at shortstop. Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom have taken steps forward offensively. Soderstrom also showed he's capable of playing better defense than expected in left field after being forced off first base by Kurtz's arrival. Even as Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler took steps back after fantastic 2024 seasons, this lineup runs six deep. The 18-year-old De Vries is a dynamic talent at the top of the farm system who has a good shot to pair with Wilson as an elite middle infield tandem down the line.
The A's don't have the same kind of young corps anchoring the pitching staff. Neither the Luis Severino signing nor the Jeffrey Springs trade stabilized the rotation as hoped (though Severino has been quite good down the stretch). Both pitchers have managed back-of-the-rotation results overall without missing a ton of bats. Neither has fared well at the A's temporary home park in Sacramento.
Severino blasted the arrangement when speaking with Brendan Kuty of The Athletic in June. Asked about his stark home/road splits, the righty said his road numbers were better "because we play in a big-league stadium on the road." He added that pitching in Sacramento is "not the same atmosphere. We don’t have a lot of fans. Our clubhouse is in left field. So, when we play day games, we have to just be in the sun."
The criticism was bizarre considering the A's went beyond general expectations to sign Severino to a three-year, $67MM contract last offseason. That price presumably baked in a cost for pitching in a minor league facility on a team without a true home city. Unsurprisingly, USA Today's Bob Nightengale suggested that Severino's comments were not well-received by A's brass. The team would've welcomed a chance to trade him at the deadline. Between the contract and Severino's lack of swing-and-miss stuff both at home and away, they were unable to find a taker.
Netflix will have exclusive streaming coverage of next season’s Opening Night matchup between the Yankees and Giants, reports Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Those teams will kick off the season with a standalone game at Oracle Park on Wednesday, March 25. Everyone else’s season will begin the following day, aligning with MLB’s usual practice of opening on the final Thursday in March.
That’s not the only significant get for Netflix. Marchand reports that the streaming corporation will also get the Home Run Derby for the next three seasons and share broadcasts of a few special location games (e.g. Field of Dreams, Rickwood Field) with NBC. Netflix and MLB are signing a three-year deal which Marchand reports will pay the league roughly $225-250MM annually.
Opening Night and the Home Run Derby were previously part of MLB’s long-running deal with ESPN. That collapsed in February when both sides opted out of the contract for the 2026-28 seasons. ESPN sought to renegotiate at a lesser rights fee. MLB instead partitioned the package — which included the Derby, Sunday Night Baseball, and the Wild Card round — and has hammered out a few smaller deals with different companies.
Marchand reported last month that Netflix was making a bid for the Derby, and they’ve apparently reached that agreement. He adds today that NBC and its streaming service Peacock will pick up Sunday Night Baseball and the Wild Card round from 2026-28. (ESPN will still have next week’s first round as part of the final season of the previous agreement.) NBC is also expected to pay around $225-250MM per season on a three-year contract.
There’ll also be a change to the regular season games on Sunday mornings. Roku has carried those since early 2024. Rob Tornoe of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported last month that NBC, which had carried those games on Peacock from 2022-23, would reacquire those rights. Roku’s deal ran through the end of 2026. It’s not clear if Peacock will pick those broadcasts up a year early or wait until the ’27 season.
ESPN will also remain a partner of the league on a much bigger deal. Marchand reported in August that the broadcaster was nearing agreement with MLB to license the rights to teams’ out-of-market games, which have been part of the MLB.tv package. ESPN also gets in-market rights for the Rockies, Twins, Diamondbacks, Padres and Guardians — the five clubs whose broadcasts have been handled by the league since their regional TV deals collapsed. ESPN also gets 30 exclusive national games to replace what it lost on Sunday nights; those games will now be on weekdays.
That’s also a three-year arrangement. Marchand reports that ESPN will pay the league $1.65 billion in total — matching the $550MM annual sum it would have paid for Sunday nights, the Derby, and the Wild Card round had it not opted out.
It’s not a coincidence that all these deals run through 2028. MLB’s preexisting contracts with Fox (which carries the World Series, the ALCS, the ALDS, and the All-Star Game) and Turner (which has the NLDS and NLCS) also expire at the end of the ’28 season. Commissioner Rob Manfred has expressed a desire to acquire the local in-market rights for every team by that point. That would give MLB the opportunity to shop virtually everything going into 2029.
Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado is becoming more open to the possibility of waiving his no-trade clause. “I think I have to be,” Arenado said to Katie Woo of The Athletic. “That’s something I’ll discuss with my agent and my family.” Right-hander Sonny Gray made similar comments to the media this week.
The signs coming out of St. Louis indicate that major changes are on the horizon. Woo reported last week that many within the organization have been told to expect the club to embark on a multi-year rebuild with significant roster turnover.
It was around this time a year ago that the first signs of a major shift came to light. In late September of last year, the Cards announced that president of baseball operations John Mozeliak would be stepping down after the 2025 season. He would be replaced by Chaim Bloom, though Bloom would spend the 2025 season overhauling the club’s player development systems.
The Cards planned to cut payroll coming into this season but found that hard to do. Players like Gray and Willson Contreras were unwilling to waive their no-trade clauses and be sent out of St. Louis. Arenado was a bit more open to the possibility but gave the Cards a list of five clubs he would approve a trade to: the Dodgers, Yankees, Padres, Red Sox and Astros.
The Cards and Astros did line up on a deal at one point but Arenado used his no-trade clause to block it. At the time, the Astros had just traded Kyle Tucker to the Cubs. Arenado said he was open to joining the Astros but wanted more clarity on their post-Tucker plans. No deal eventually came together and he stayed a Cardinal.
The 2025 season opened with the Cards having done very little in the winter. The lack of trades was also accompanied by a lack of free agent activity. Their only big league deal was a $2MM guarantee for reliever Phil Maton.
They used the campaign to evaluate younger players without finding much success. Iván Herrera hit well but some injuries and shaky defense led to him spending most of the year as a designated hitter. Jordan Walker got almost everyday playing time but struck out in 31.9% of his plate appearances and slashed .215/.275/.299 for a 63 wRC+. Nolan Gorman also got lots of playing time but found similar results, with a 33.1% strikeout rate, .204/.297/.372 line and 88 wRC+. Victor Scott II can run and play the field but provided subpar offense. Masyn Winn’s offense declined, though that may have been related to his knee injury.
There were disappointments on the pitching side as well. Matthew Liberatore got 29 starts with pedestrian results, including a 4.21 earned run average and 18.8% strikeout rate. Andre Pallante had a passable first half with a 4.49 ERA but has a 6.64 ERA in the second half. Michael McGreevy’s 91 innings resulted in a 4.35 ERA. With those underwhelming performances and others, the club has produced a middling 78-81 record thus far.
While the Cards ended up largely standing pat last winter, it now appears they are firmly picking the rebuild lane. Woo says many in the organization expect the rebuild to take at least two to three years. As such, it’s understandable that players like Gray and Arenado would be more open to getting out of the way. Gray is about to turn 36 years old and has just one guaranteed year left on his deal. Though he may not want to uproot his family, from an on-field perspective, it would surely be preferable to go to a club planning to win.
Along similar lines, Arenado will be turning 35 in April and is only signed through 2027. “I think the discussion I’ll have with my agent for sure is that the list will be different,” Arenado said this week, referring back to last year’s five-team list. “I would really like this not to go the way it did last year,” Arenado said. “At some point, I’ll talk to Chaim, and then we’ll hopefully have a good plan on how we need to approach it. I’ll be very open about it, and I know he will too.”
What’s unclear is how much interest other clubs will actually have in Arenado. His fielding is still graded as solid but he’s coming off his worst full-season offensive performance since he was a 22-year-old rookie. He slashed .236/.289/.371 this year for a wRC+ of 82, indicating he was 18% below average at the plate.
“The way I played this year, it looks old and washed,” Arenado said. “But I don’t feel that way. My defense is still there. I’m seeing the ball fine. There are some things where my body isn’t in the right spot, and I need to get it there because I still feel like I can be a really impactful player.”
That performance doesn’t pair well with his contract. He is going to make $27MM next year. The Rockies are covering $5MM of that and there are deferrals, but it’s still a hefty commitment. He’ll then make $15MM in 2027 as well.
Even putting aside the complication of Arenado’s no-trade, the Cardinals would surely have to eat a decent chunk of that money to facilitate a deal. It’s unclear if they would prefer to simply jettison as much of the commitment as possible or if they would rather eat even more in order to secure a notable prospect return.
There are potential ramifications elsewhere on the roster as well. In Woo’s reporting from last week, she brings up the possibility of players like Lars Nootbaar or Brendan Donovan being available in trades this winter. Both players are can be controlled via arbitration through the 2027 season. If the Cards are indeed embarking on a multi-year rebuild, it makes sense to listen on players who are only controlled for two more seasons.
Nootbaar is wrapping up a down year at the plate. The outfielder came into 2025 with a career .246/.348/.425 batting line and 116 wRC+. This year, he has a .237/.326/.366 line and 97 wRC+. That obviously cuts into his appeal but presumably there are clubs who would bet on a bounceback. He is making $2.95MM this year and will get a bump in the next two years.
Donovan’s production has been more steady. He has a career .282/.361/.411 line and 119 wRC+. This year’s .287/.353/.422 line and 118 wRC+ are right around his normal range. He also provides defensive versatility, with experience at all four infield spots as well as the outfield corners. He is making $2.85MM this year. The affordability and positional flexibility make him a fit on almost any club.
Other trade possibilities could arise this winter as well. As mentioned, Contreras didn’t want to waive his no-trade clause last offseason, but perhaps he will follow the path of Gray and Arenado in becoming more open to it. He’s been moved off the catcher position but can still hit. Alec Burleson is controlled for three more seasons, slightly longer than Donovan and Nootbaar, but is coming off a nice breakout campaign which could allow the Cards to sell high. Herrera is still controlled for four more seasons but the questions about his catching ability perhaps make him a better fit elsewhere. Reliever JoJo Romero is only controlled through 2026.
The details will surely become more clear in the coming weeks and months but it appears the main path has been selected. The rebuilding road will be a new one for the Cards. In the earlier parts of this century, they were on the cutting edge of player development, which allowed them to be consistently competitive. They’ve only had two losing seasons since 1999, though this year may be a third. They believe they have fallen a bit behind in those development areas and need to reset.
Bloom will be in charge of hitting that reset button. His previous tenure with the Red Sox saw the club amass an impressive collection of young talent, including guys like Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, Wilyer Abreu, Connelly Early and others. Bloom was fired before most of those guys reached the majors but they are now helping the Red Sox re-emerge as a contender. The hope will be for the Cards to follow a similar script, though it’s possible the next few years could be painful for the big league team.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Trea Turner has been sidelined since he strained his right hamstring on September 7. The Phillies have maintained for the past three weeks that they believe their star shortstop would be ready for the postseason. Manager Rob Thomson confirmed Thursday that’ll be the case, and the Phillies haven’t closed the door on Turner returning for their final regular season game or two (link via Matt Gelb of The Athletic).
“We want to make sure he’s 100 percent,” Thomson said of Turner’s chance of returning this weekend. “We know he’s going to be there for the playoffs. I think the work he’s done here has been very good. His timing is pretty good. … We’d like him to play, but is it super important? No. Not really. As long as he’s healthy.”
Philly has secured a first-round bye. They’re technically still in the running for the #1 seed, but that’s a long shot. They’d need to sweep Minnesota this weekend while relying on the Reds to sweep the Brewers. Activating Turner from the injured list would be about getting him a few tune-up plate appearances before the playoffs.
While the team’s success is obviously the top consideration, a return this weekend could aid him in a couple statistical categories. Turner is hitting .305, which puts him on track to win the second batting title of his career. Nico Hoerner was the only other qualified NL hitter above .300 entering play today, but he went 0-4 to drop to .299.
Turner may hang onto the batting title by default, but he’d probably need to come back if he’s to hold his league lead in hits. He’s still atop the Senior Circuit with 179 knocks, but Luis Arraez (176) and Hoerner (175) have pulled close behind while he’s been out. Turner has an outside shot to lead the majors in hits if he comes back tomorrow or Saturday. Bo Bichette, who is out with a knee sprain until the start of the postseason, has an MLB-high 181 hits. Bobby Witt Jr. pulled even with Turner for second place in a three-hit performance today. Turner led the majors in hits in consecutive seasons from 2020-21.
The three-time All-Star acknowledged that he’d like to win the batting title but noted to Gelb and other reporters that “the postseason is more important.” Turner has progressed to various baseball activities. He’s hitting against Phils’ minor league arms, fielding grounders, and running. Harrison Bader has moved to the top of the lineup in Turner’s absence. Bryson Stott was playing shortstop for a while but slid back to second base with Edmundo Sosa coming back from his own injury yesterday.
The Division Series begin next Saturday, October 4. Assuming the Phillies wind up as the #2 seed, they’ll line up for a potential first-round matchup with the defending champions. The Dodgers clinched the NL West and the third seed with a win today. They’d square off against the #2 if they defeat whichever of the Mets, Reds or Diamondbacks secures the last spot in the Wild Card round.
Pirates GM Ben Cherington’s contract runs through the 2027 season, according to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. Cherington has been at the helm of Pittsburgh’s front office since November 2019. John Perrotto of The Associated Press wrote last week that Cherington was signed beyond this season, though it was previously unknown if his contract ran through 2026 or ’27. This latest update gives him at least two more years worth of guaranteed salary.
Dating back to Cherington’s first season at the helm – the COVID-shortened 2020 season – the Pirates have a record of 363-504 and have finished 4th or 5th in the NL Central in every season. The club’s last winning season was in 2018 under then-GM Neal Huntington. They lost 93 games the following season. Owner Bob Nutting fired Huntington and brought in Cherington after the following season, even though Huntington had multiple years remaining on his contract at the time.
That same offseason saw the Bucs fire manager Clint Hurdle, whom they replaced with Derek Shelton. Pittsburgh stuck with the Cherington-Shelton pairing for five full seasons, maxing out with 76-86 seasons in both 2023 and ’24. A 12-26 start to year six led them to fire Shelton in early May. They’ve been better under interim skipper Don Kelly, yet their 57-64 record in that time has them playing at the same 76-win pace of the previous two seasons. Some growing pains are always expected at the beginning of a rebuild, but the record has plateaued even as the Bucs have put together a talented collection of young arms.
Under Cherington, Pittsburgh has had much more success drafting and developing pitching than they’ve had on the position player side. The Pirates drafted Paul Skenes No. 1 overall in 2023, and the righty is now the favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award. He gives the club their first bona fide ace since Gerrit Cole and should anchor the rotation for the next few years.
Braxton Ashcraft and Mike Burrows were drafted before Cherington’s arrival but have developed into promising pitchers this season. Closer Dennis Santana has broken out since being claimed off waivers last June. There’s more pitching talent in the pipeline. Five of MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects are in the Pirates organization, and two of them – RHP Bubba Chandler (No. 7) and LHP Hunter Barco (No. 82) – have recently made their big-league debuts. They added another potential impact arm with RHP Seth Hernandez, the sixth overall pick this summer.
Impressive as the pitching group has been, they’ve had too many misses on offense. Henry Davis, the first overall pick in 2021, is a career .178/.260/.288 hitter. Nick Gonzales, selected seventh overall in 2020, has a .259/.302/.378 line in more than 900 plate appearances. While it’s too early to close the book on 2022 fourth overall pick Termarr Johnson, he’s not as highly regarded as he was at draft time because of questions about his power ceiling and defense at second base.
Last year’s first-round pick looks much more successful. Konnor Griffin, the #9 pick in 2024, had a phenomenal minor league season. He’s a potential franchise shortstop and arguably the #1 prospect in the game. Griffin has a chance to become the dynamic position player talent that the club has lacked, but they’ll need a lot more production throughout the lineup. Spencer Horwitz and Joey Bart are their only two hitters who have been even slightly above-average at the plate this season, as measured by wRC+. No team has scored fewer runs.
Cherington said over the weekend that he hasn’t received any indication from ownership that he won’t remain in the position going into 2026. If that proves to be the case, he’ll first need to decide whether to retain Kelly as the permanent manager. The focus will again be on building even a league average offense. Skenes, Chandler, and Mitch Keller form a strong front of the rotation, with all three under control through at least 2028. The team’s payroll annually ranks in the bottom 10 of the league, likely leaving the front office looking in the third or fourth tiers of free agency to acquire some complementary pieces to strengthen the lineup in hopes of getting above .500 and challenging for a Wild Card spot.
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