Jake Mangum’s offseason got a little more memorable on Oct. 3, when the Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder proposed to his girlfriend, Baylor Bounds.
Bounds confirmed the engagement on Instagram, where she shared photos of the proposal in a grassy field with a giant white cross in the background. Her caption read, "A story only God could write, Bounds wrote in her caption.
"Forever with my best friend!“ We love because He first loved us.”
1 John 4:19
Mangum’s personal milestone comes after a solid first season with Pittsburgh, one that gave the Pirates exactly the kind of depth they needed across the outfield. Acquired in a three-team trade on Dec. 19, 2025, Mangum came over from the Tampa Bay Rays along with left-handed relief pitcher Mason Montgomery and second baseman Brandon Lowe, while right-handed starting pitcher Mike Burrows went to the Houston Astros.
On the field, Mangum delivered steady production in 133 games, hitting .276/.331/.363 with an OPS of .694. He finished with 120 hits, 19 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 33 RBI and 23 stolen bases in 32 attempts.
What made him especially valuable was his flexibility. Mangum can handle all three outfield spots, and that mattered when center fielder Oneil Cruz fractured his left hand and missed two months, June 10 to Aug.
- During that stretch, Mangum started 54 of the 62 games Cruz missed.
He also made the most of his chances as the starting center fielder, batting .301/.353/.410 with an OPS of .764. In that role, he added 69 hits, 12 doubles, two triples, three home runs, 19 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
Mangum is still a pre-arbitration player, and the Pirates are expected to keep him on their Opening Day roster. Even with the outfield set - Bryan Reynolds in left, Cruz in center and rookie Esmerlyn Valdez in right - Mangum’s value remains clear.
He was particularly useful in left field whenever Reynolds shifted into the designated hitter role, and that opened the door for Reynolds to play all 162 games in 2026, the first Pirate to do so since Jason Bay in 2005. It also kept Mangum in the mix after Cruz returned from injury.
Mangum will turn 31 before next season, but he has stayed healthy over the last two years, with the exception of a groin strain that sidelined him for a month as a rookie in 2025. If he keeps reaching base, keeps covering all three outfield spots and keeps creating problems on the bases, he should remain a useful bench weapon for Pittsburgh next season.
In Other News...
Astros Trade Looks Different After What Pittsburgh Got Out Of It
The three-team deal that sent Brandon Lowe, Mason Montgomery and Jake Mangum to Pittsburgh has taken on a very different look over the course of the season. What once figured to be a side note in a bigger Astros-Rays-Pirates transaction has become part of the Pirates broader case for progress, with all three newcomers carving out useful roles and helping stabilize a club that needed production in a few key spots.
Lowe brought the kind of two-way impact Pittsburgh had hoped for, while Montgomery turned into a late-season weapon out of the bullpen. Mangum, meanwhile, filled in as a dependable fourth outfielder when injuries opened the door, giving the Pirates needed coverage without much drop-off. With the seasons dust settling, the bigger question now is how those contributions shape the teams plans moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Don Kelly Just Added To A Pirates Frustration That Wont End
Don Kellys first full season at the helm gave the Pirates something they had not had since 2018, a winning record, but it still came with the same familiar knot in the standings. Pittsburgh finished 82-80 and six games back in the Wild Card race, a mark that looks respectable on paper and yet still lands in the broad category of not enough for a fan base that has been waiting far too long for a real October run.
Ben Cheringtons latest signal only deepens that tension, since the front office is already talking about moving on from Brandon Lowe, the clubs key offensive presence, in the name of building a better path forward. For a team that finally took a step in the right direction, the challenge now is making sure the next one is larger, cleaner and good enough to end the cycle of almost-there seasons. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Look Smarter For Dumping KeBryan Hayes When They Did
When the Pirates moved KeBryan Hayes to the Reds at the 2025 trade deadline, it looked like the kind of deal that said as much about the clubs direction as it did about the player. Hayes had been a long-tenured piece of the organization, but his bat never found much traction, and Pittsburgh chose to get out while it still could and bring back shortstop prospect Sammy Stafura and pitcher Luke Weaver.
The choice looks even sharper in hindsight after Hayes finished the season with a .419 OPS and 32 hits in 94 games, one of the worst offensive runs by an everyday player since 1940. Pittsburgh is now sorting through other answers at third base, which only underscores how much the team had grown tired of waiting for the position to produce. [Read more 🡒]