Friday marked a number nobody in Pittsburgh wanted to celebrate: game No. 1,000 of the Ben Cherington era. And instead of arriving with any real sense of progress, it landed the way so many Pirates milestones have lately - with the club below .500, out of the playoff race and still trying to talk itself into something better.
That was the backdrop when Cherington went on his weekly radio show Sunday on 93.7 The Fan and started looking ahead to September. Entering the day 7.5 games back of a playoff spot, he didn’t pretend the standings were kind. But he also wouldn’t shut the door on a late push, pointing to the possibility of a healthier roster with Oneil Cruz and Spencer Horwitz back, Konnor Griffin potentially returning soon and Ryan O'Hearn hopefully following later.
“We haven’t had a hot streak all year that most teams have,” Cherington said on his weekly radio show Sunday on 93.7 The Fan. “I think it’s possible we have the best team we’ve had all year.
It’s possible, and I think it’s true, we haven’t had a real hot streak. No matter the odds or the standings, I see the potential for a hot streak in September.”
That’s the kind of line that makes perfect sense in a vacuum and sounds a lot different when it comes after 1,000 games. The Pirates’ longest winning streak this season is five games, and that stretch came from the final day of March into early April. Since then, the promise has stayed mostly theoretical.
Maybe Pittsburgh does get rolling in September. Baseball does strange things all the time.
But that doesn’t change the larger issue: Cherington shouldn’t be judged on a random burst of wins over the next few weeks. He should be judged on the 1,000 games that came before it.
And that body of work is hard to dress up. The high-water mark under Cherington remains 76 wins, and the Pirates still haven’t had a winning season during his tenure.
What was once sold as a rebuild has now entered Year 7, and the expectation had finally shifted from patience to contention. Instead, the Pirates are still staring at September from the outside.
To be fair, this season wasn’t without real progress. Cherington built one of baseball’s better offenses, and after leaving the bullpen exposed for most of the year, he finally attacked that weakness at the trade deadline. Those moves matter.
But they also don’t erase the rest of the picture. The bullpen stayed broken for months before it was fixed.
Marcell Ozuna occupied a roster spot for four months despite almost no production and the baggage that came with the move. The defense has been a major problem.
The starting rotation, which was supposed to be the backbone of the team, showed cracks. And even with the deadline additions, Pittsburgh still didn’t land the right-handed bat the lineup seemed to need.
Early in a rebuild, those issues can be framed as growing pains. Seven years in, they read more like a verdict.
Injuries and bad luck are part of every season, and Cherington can point to Cruz missing significant time, Griffin getting hurt, O'Hearn landing on the IL and other setbacks. But that only goes so far. A general manager doesn’t get to separate himself from the roster he built just because some of it went sideways.
Cherington also pushed back on the idea that the Pirates should start shutting players down if the postseason becomes out of reach.
“The MLB season is a precious thing and we all have a job to do, including the players,” he said. “If there is a risk not worth taking, we will make adjustments. If not, there is value in that you finish what you start.”
That stance is reasonable enough on its own. The bigger question is what ownership does with it. Cherington is reportedly under contract through 2027, and it would be easy for the Pirates to point to the injuries, the improved offense, the deadline upgrades and the possibility of a healthier roster next year as reasons to keep believing.
They shouldn’t need another September streak to make the call. They already have 1,000 games worth of evidence.
In Other News...
Pirates Get Two Encouraging Injury Signs As Endy Faces A Bigger Concern
The Pirates got a pair of encouraging injury updates as the calendar starts to turn, with Ben Cherington saying Konnor Griffin and Ryan OHearn are moving in the right direction. Griffin, dealing with a left ring finger injury, is making progress in rehab and is expected back in early September, while OHearn is working back from a left quad strain and could return around mid-September. For a club that has had to manage depth carefully, even modest good news on the injury front matters.
Endy Rodrguez remains the bigger concern in the group, and Cheringtons update left plenty of uncertainty around his left hip issue. A possible surgery is on the table, and with it comes the real possibility of a season-altering absence for a player the Pirates have been trying to keep in the mix. In a stretch when healthy bodies can change the shape of a roster quickly, Rodrguez is the name that hangs over the rest of the injury report. [Read more 🡒]
Khristian Curtis Just Put Real Pressure On The Pirates Rotation
Khristian Curtis has given the Pirates something they can never have enough of in late summer: a young arm forcing its way into the conversation. Through his first two major league appearances, the right-hander has spun eight scoreless innings while allowing only two hits, a quick start that has turned a low-key call-up into a legitimate rotation storyline as the calendar moves toward September.
Don Kelly already identified Curtis as a candidate for a roster spot when the expanded rosters arrive next month, and the path is clearer with Mitch Keller out for the season. That leaves Pittsburgh looking for innings wherever it can find them, and Curtis is suddenly in position to do more than just fill space. If he keeps this going, the Pirates may have no choice but to keep giving him a real chance to start. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Are Finally Closing In On A Konnor Griffin Return
Konnor Griffin is finally moving toward a return, and the Pirates have a clearer sense of when they might have him back in the lineup. General manager Ben Cherington said Griffin is progressing well in his rehab from a left ring sagittal band injury, with the outfielder having been sidelined since early July. After a stretch on the shelf, Griffin has recently started swinging again now that his splint has been removed.
The calendar still matters here, because Griffin cannot be activated from the 60-day injured list until September 4. Even so, the expectation is that he could be back in major league games in early September, giving Pittsburgh a late-season boost if his recovery continues on schedule. [Read more 🡒]