The Pirates are heading into the deadline with a chance to buy, and that alone says plenty about where this season stands. Pittsburgh hasn’t reached the playoffs in 10 years, the longest active drought in the National League, but a strong finish to the first half has put them back in the conversation.
A three-game sweep of the Brewers closed the break on a high note, and the timing mattered. The Pirates are still 9.5 games out in the division, which looks all but out of reach, but the sweep - combined with the Marlins being swept by Cleveland - moved Pittsburgh to within two games in the Wild Card race.
That puts the front office in a familiar spot for deadline season, only this time the path is a little clearer. The Pirates are expected to act like buyers, but the next couple of weeks will tell the real story.
Their schedule out of the All-Star Break is a grind: six road games against Cleveland and the Yankees, then home series against the Cubs and Diamondbacks, both Wild Card rivals, before a four-game set in Cincinnati leading into the August 3 deadline. If they manage only four or five wins in those 16 games, a sell-off becomes the more likely route.
Anything better, and they should keep pushing.
The case for adding is obvious. Pittsburgh is playing at an 83-win pace, but the underlying numbers are stronger than that record suggests.
The Pirates own the NL’s fifth-best run differential, and their top half of the rotation would be dangerous in a short series if they can finally end the postseason drought. Last week’s trade with the White Sox was only the start; bigger pitching moves could be next.
The needs are pretty clear: at least one high-leverage reliever, preferably two, a back-end starter and a right-handed bench bat.
What makes this version of the Pirates unusual is the offense. For years, they’ve been the club waiting on bats to support good pitching.
In 2026, it’s flipped. Pittsburgh has one of the three best offenses in baseball, is tied with the Nationals for the major league lead in runs, and trails only the Dodgers in on-base percentage and OPS.
Even in a pitcher-friendly park, they’re sixth in home runs.
That said, the lineup has taken some hard hits over the past six weeks. Oneil Cruz, Konnor Griffin, Spencer Horwitz and Endy Rodríguez have all gone down since the beginning of June.
Griffin won’t be back until September, while the others have a shot to return by the deadline. Those absences matter, especially with the next stretch of games carrying so much weight, which makes that sweep of Milwaukee look even more impressive.
General manager Ben Cherington had already signaled the club might need help at shortstop after Griffin’s injury, and Pittsburgh addressed it just before the draft. The Pirates sent the No. 34 overall pick and a minor league pitcher to the White Sox for Jacob Gonzalez and left-handed reliever Brandon Eisert.
Gonzalez was squeezed out of Chicago’s everyday infield when Munetaka Murakami returned from injury, but he brings a hot bat to Pittsburgh. He has no major league shortstop experience, though he has played the position in the minors, and he’s in the middle of a breakout at Triple-A, where he’s hitting .320/.422/.675 with 19 homers in 54 games.
That’s a massive jump from anything he had done in his first three minor league seasons, so it’s a bet on a small sample. For now, he should take over as the fill-in at shortstop ahead of Jared Triolo, and he could remain in the mix as a left-handed bench option once Griffin is back.
In Other News...
Pirates Get A Bullpen Arm Back At A Critical Time
The Pirates got a bullpen arm back at a useful moment Friday, activating right-hander Wilber Dotel off the 15-day injured list and putting him on the 26-man roster ahead of their doubleheader against the Guardians. Dotel had been working his way back through a rehab assignment, and the club is counting on him to give the relief corps another option as it navigates a long day against Cleveland.
Dotel is expected to be available for the second game, which gives Pittsburgh a chance to ease him back in rather than asking for immediate heavy lifting. The timing matters because he had opened the season in strong form before the injury, and the Pirates could use even a partial return to that version of him as they try to stabilize the middle innings. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Turn To An Unexpected Arm As Bigger Doubleheader Questions Loom
With a doubleheader against the Guardians on July 18 forcing some short-term roster juggling, the Pirates turned to right-hander Khristian Curtis as their 27th man for the day. Curtis was added to handle the first game, giving Pittsburgh an extra arm for a spot start in the schedule before the club sends him back to Triple-A Indianapolis.
The move fits the kind of one-day roster math that often comes with a twin bill, especially for a pitching staff that needs to keep one eye on the next game as much as the current one. Wilber Dotel is set to come off the injured list afterward, and the Pirates also moved center fielder Oneil Cruz to the 60-day injured list to clear the way for Curtis to join the 40-man roster. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Pitcher Just Changed How Rivals Have To View The Pirates
The Pirates have spent enough time being treated like the NL Centrals long-shot project, but that perception has started to change around the division. After Pittsburgh swept the Brewers right before the All-Star break, Milwaukee pitcher Jacob Misiorowski was among the voices acknowledging that the Pirates belong in the same conversation with the Cubs and Cardinals as the race tightens.
Pittsburgh still has ground to make up in the standings, but the bigger shift is how opponents are talking about them now. They are no longer being framed only as a rebuilding club, and with a Wild Card chase still within reach, rivals have to account for them as a legitimate threat rather than a team just trying to hang around. [Read more 🡒]