Ben Cherington knows the Pittsburgh Pirates have a bullpen problem, and so do the fans.
That much came through clearly when the general manager discussed the unit on The Pirates Insider Show on 93.7 The Fan. Cherington said the club will make moves, but not necessarily right away.
“.... Yeah I think urgency, absolutely, I think we should have urgency," Cherington said.
"... Trades are inevitably gonna happen at some point, but we’re two weeks from the draft and usually, and there’s a good chance, really, that nothing picks up until after the draft.”
The timing matters. The draft is set for July 11-12, and Cherington’s point was simple enough: significant trade activity usually doesn’t get moving this early. Around MLB, that has mostly been true, with the Chicago Cubs’ addition of New York Mets left-handed pitcher David Peterson standing as the only real trade of note so far this season, and Peterson has been more of a starter than a reliever.
Still, that reality is cold comfort for a Pirates team whose bullpen has been a major problem in 2026. Pittsburgh has not had dependable arms in high-leverage spots, and the trouble hasn’t been limited to the late innings. The group has hurt the club in games across the board, adding to the frustration in a season built around playoff hopes.
Cherington spent nearly six minutes on the subject, and much of that time centered on three specific incidents and whether they were bad luck or something more. He finished by trying to boil it down, but the message stopped short of offering a clear fix.
“... So long way of saying, we need to be better," Cherington said.
"We all have a job to make it better. What we want to make sure is we separate out things that are probably just rotten luck that maybe smooth out over time from things that we can actually improve from an execution standpoint and then that’s putting aside, can we add guys to the team?
At some point, I hope we can, and we’re working on that. It’s still pretty early and not a lot of trades happen this early.”
The Pirates did make one bullpen-related move, bringing back right-handed pitcher Hunter Stratton in a trade with the Atlanta Braves that sent catcher Joey Bart the other way. But that was not the kind of addition that changes the outlook of the relief corps.
And that is where the disconnect sits for Pittsburgh fans. They know the bullpen is unreliable.
They can see the damage it has done. They also know the team is in position to matter, with Pittsburgh above .500 at the midpoint of the season, 41-40, for the first time since 2015, the last time the club reached the postseason.
The Pirates are a few games out in the National League Wild Card race, and with one of the best offenses in baseball and a generally solid starting rotation, there is at least a real chance this team could be playing meaningful baseball in the fall.
That is why Cherington’s comments land the way they do. He is right that the biggest move may not come until closer to the deadline. But for a fan base that has seen very little success over the past 30 years, patience is thin, and excuses do not play well.
The message Pirates fans want is not just that the front office sees the problem. They want to hear that it is going to be fixed.
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Jones did not try to hide the fact that he is searching for answers, even as he maintained that his velocity and movement are still where he wants them. The stuff is there, but the results have lagged, and for a Pirates rotation trying to find stability, that gap is getting harder to ignore. How quickly Jones can turn those tools into consistent outs will shape whether this is a temporary setback or something more unsettling. [Read more 🡒]