The Pittsburgh Pirates may be staring at a pricey winter before they even think about adding outside help.
According to Jim Bowden of The Athletic, Pittsburgh could need $67 million in free agency just to keep Brandon Lowe and Gregory Soto in the fold. Bowden projected Lowe at three years and $45 million, with Soto landing two years and $22 million. For a team that went 82-80 and missed the postseason, that kind of spending would be aimed at preservation, not progress.
Lowe, of course, looks like the clearer priority. In 2026, the veteran second baseman gave the Pirates the kind of middle-order thump they’ve been chasing for years, finishing with 35 home runs and 96 RBI.
He made $11.5 million last season, and Bowden’s projection would bump him to $15 million per year. For Pittsburgh, losing that bat would mean opening another hole in a lineup that already needs help.
Soto is a tougher call. The left-hander posted a 3.63 ERA with 79 strikeouts and 16 saves across 67 innings, but he also blew six saves. With Mason Montgomery emerging as a legitimate late-inning option, it’s fair to question whether an $11 million annual commitment makes sense for a bullpen piece when the club has limited money to spread around.
The bigger issue is what all of this says about where the Pirates are financially. Even if they keep Lowe and Soto, that doesn’t solve the broader roster problems.
Pittsburgh still needs another dependable starter, a right-handed hitter who can handle left-handed pitching, bullpen depth and maybe more help in the infield. Re-signing those two wouldn’t check off any of those boxes.
And the payroll picture isn’t getting any easier. Paul Skenes is heading into his first year of arbitration, and MLB Trade Rumors projects him at $7.2 million for 2027. He’s one of 10 arbitration-eligible Pirates who could be due for raises, which only adds to the pressure on Ben Cherington.
The Pirates took an 11-win step forward in 2026, but they still finished six games shy of the final National League Wild Card spot. That leaves them in a familiar spot: close enough to matter, but still needing more.
They don’t have to spend exactly $67 million on Lowe and Soto. They could keep Lowe, look for a cheaper bullpen arm or use trades to plug other gaps.
But the math doesn’t really change. Holding the line costs money.
Replacing production costs money. And getting better than what they already have costs even more.
If Bob Nutting isn’t ready to push payroll higher, Cherington could be forced into another winter of hard choices just to keep this thing afloat. The Pirates can’t expect to build on an 82-win season without paying to keep the players who helped create it.
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Pirates Could Regret Tying Up Bullpen Money In Familiar Name
As the Pirates look ahead to the next offseason, the bullpen figures to be one of the more delicate places to spend. MLB insider Jim Bowden has already floated Gregory Soto as a possible fit, noting the left-handers name recognition and the kind of role he could fill late in games, but any pursuit would come with the usual Pittsburgh question: is this the best place to commit meaningful money when the roster still needs help in several spots?
Sotos 2026 season offered both sides of the argument. He finished with a 3.63 ERA and 16 saves, enough to suggest he can still help anchor a relief mix, but his performance also reflected the kind of inconsistency that can make a bullpen plan feel shaky in a hurry. For a Pirates team that has to be careful with every dollar, the challenge will be deciding whether a familiar arm is worth the price or whether those resources are better spent elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Fans Should Be Worried This Problem Goes Far Beyond Ben Cherington
The Pirates had a chance to go in a different direction when they were searching for a general manager in 2019, and Matt Arnold was among the names in the mix before Ben Cherington got the job. That decision has taken on a different light now, because Arnold has become part of the Brewers front office success story while Pittsburgh is still looking for the kind of sustained progress fans expected when Cherington arrived.
Arnolds rise in Milwaukee is a reminder that personnel choices are only part of the equation. The Brewers have built with continuity, structure and organizational support, while the Pirates have too often looked like a club still trying to establish the same foundation. Even with Cherington in place, the bigger concern for Pittsburgh is how much of the gap between these franchises comes from the man at the top, and how much comes from everything around him. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Are Stockpiling Shortstops And One Big Question Follows
The Pirates have made a clear habit of loading up on shortstop talent, adding first-round pick Konnor Griffin, second-round picks Wyatt Sanford and Aiden Ruiz, and other young infielders such as Johan De Los Santos and Darrell Morel. It is the kind of pattern that says as much about organizational thinking as it does about individual prospects, with Pittsburgh treating shortstop as both a premium defensive spot and a source of athleticism that can ripple across a roster.
There is also a more practical side to it: good shortstops tend to hold value, and even the ones who do not stay at the position forever can still become useful pieces somewhere else. For the Pirates, the real question is not whether they have invested in the spot, but how many of these players will remain there as they move through the system and whether one of them eventually becomes the long-term answer the club has been hunting for. [Read more 🡒]