Pirates fans have plenty of reasons to be fed up with 2026, but Jake Mangum doesn’t belong near the front of the line.
Pittsburgh came into the season talking about the postseason, and now the playoff chase is slipping away. The pitching staff has fallen off hard, the lineup has gone in and out of rhythm, and the club has too often let chances get away.
That frustration is real. It just shouldn’t be dumped on Mangum as if he’s one of the main reasons the year has gone sideways.
That doesn’t mean he’s spotless. Mangum can drive people crazy because he plays like every pitch is the last one of Game 7.
He goes all-out in the field, takes aggressive routes and sometimes ends up making the moment bigger than it needs to be. There have been plays this season where that edge has cost Pittsburgh extra bases or runs.
At the plate, it’s the same kind of story. He swings a ton, and he’ll chase pitches outside the zone in ways that can be maddening when the Pirates need a calm, disciplined at-bat. He’s probably never going to be the guy fans point to as a model for strike-zone control.
But that’s only half the picture.
Since Oneil Cruz went down with a broken hand on June 7, Mangum has been one of the players asked to pick up those missing outfield innings and plate appearances. Cruz has an .822 OPS this season.
Mangum has posted a .758 OPS since Cruz got hurt. That’s not the same level of production, obviously, but it’s also nowhere near the disaster some are making it out to be.
The numbers back that up. Mangum hit .321 in June, .319 in July and is batting .294 so far in August.
He’s been putting the ball in play, reaching base and making pitchers work. The swing-happy approach can produce ugly at-bats, sure, but it also creates a lot of contact.
He fouls off pitches, lengthens plate appearances and forces opposing arms to stay engaged.
There’s value in that, especially on a team that has already been worn down by a frustrating season. Mangum runs hard, plays hard and is involved in just about everything that happens on the field. Even when the aggression hurts him, there’s never any doubt he’s fully in it.
He also showed that edge after the game, saying, "We're gonna keep fighting, we need y'alls help the rest of the way. We got the home stretch coming up; y'all show up, be loud, and we're gonna keep fighting."
That kind of energy matters on a team that’s been hard to watch at times. And while Mangum isn’t above criticism - his plate discipline and decision-making absolutely have their rough patches - there’s a huge difference between pointing out flaws and treating him like he’s a central problem.
He isn’t.
The bigger issue is that Pittsburgh’s problems run much deeper than one aggressive outfielder. The Pirates rank 14th in Major League Baseball in man-games lost to the injured list, which puts them right in the middle of the league. Injuries have mattered, including Cruz’s absence, but they haven’t been some uniquely crushing force that explains everything.
That won’t make anyone feel better about a season that’s trending toward no October baseball. It won’t fix the pitching, and it won’t erase all the missed opportunities. But it should at least keep the blame pointed in the right direction.
Mangum is not Mike Trout in his prime. He also isn’t a hidden superstar.
He is, though, a good major league player who has produced when the Pirates needed someone to step into a bigger role, and he’s done it with obvious effort. In a season like this, that’s worth something.
There are plenty of legitimate targets for Pirates fans’ anger in 2026. Jake Mangum shouldn’t be one of them.
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