The Pirates are banking on continuity on the mound, and that means another year with Bill Murphy steering the pitching staff.
Murphy finished his first season in Pittsburgh after arriving last offseason from the Houston Astros, where he spent four years as a pitching coach. He took over for Oscar Marin, who had held the job for six seasons, and general manager Ben Cherington made it clear at his end-of-season press conference that he’s fully behind Murphy going into 2027.
“This guy’s tireless. He wants to be great," Cherington said.
"He wants the pitching staff to be great. We’ve done a lot of good things as a pitching staff.
You look at, I think, we’re breaking or close to breaking a strikeout record as a team. I’ve seen a lot of good performances from individual pitchers, a lot of steps forward from the individual pitchers across the starting group and the bullpen group.
So he’s clearly the right guy.
"He also walked into a situation that’s new. New pitchers, new information, new staff. Had some changes in the staff around him so I’m excited that this offseason is an opportunity to keep building the group around him, the pitching group around him.
"We’ve already gotten into that conversation with him, but yeah, this is a guy that wakes up wanting to be great, wanting the pitchers to be great. He’s incredibly competent, so love working with him, believe in what we’re going to accomplish together.”
That faith comes after Murphy stepped into a staff that was looking for a different approach and a push to take the next step.
There was plenty to like in 2026. The Pirates set a franchise record with 1,496 strikeouts, which ranked fifth in baseball.
Braxton Ashcraft put together an incredible first full MLB season as a starting pitcher and earned his first All-Star nod. Jared Jones closed the year strong, taking National League Pitcher of the Month honors for September after missing the first two months while rehabbing from internal brace surgery.
Mason Montgomery emerged as an elite closer over the final two months and won NL Relief Pitcher of the Month for September. Yohan Ramírez also developed into a dominant middle reliever who could handle a variety of situations.
The bullpen, in particular, took a major step after the trade deadline. Pittsburgh added Lake Bachar, Luke Weaver and Kirby Yates, and the results showed up in the numbers. Pirates relievers finished with the second-lowest batting average against at .207, the second-fewest home runs allowed at 13, the fifth-highest strikeout rate at 25.1% and the sixth-lowest WHIP at 1.21.
But the season wasn’t all progress. Paul Skenes followed up his 2025 National League Cy Young Award campaign and sub-2.00 ERA in his first two seasons by posting a 3.82 ERA in 2026, along with a 4-9 record and a 4.56 ERA over his final 23 starts. Mitch Keller struggled as well, finishing with a 5.29 ERA before landing on the 60-day injured list Aug. 3 with a right arm tear major muscle injury.
Before the deadline, the bullpen was shaky, too. Dennis Santana and Justin Lawrence were designated for assignment, and Isaac Mattson bounced back and forth between Pittsburgh and Triple-A.
The biggest damage came in the save column. The Pirates blew 19 saves, and those missed chances helped turn away wins that would have put them in a much stronger position to chase the postseason.
Murphy now gets a second year with the group, and the Pirates are hoping 2027 starts cleaner and stronger than 2026 did.
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