The Pirates spent last offseason trying to patch holes and build something sturdier for the long haul, and the results showed up fast. Those moves helped fuel an 11-win jump and pushed the club to its first winning record since 2018.
Now, with the Hot Stove heating up again and Pittsburgh chasing another step toward ending an 11-year playoff drought, the front office has a useful blueprint to study. The biggest takeaway from last winter is that the offseason deals mattered more than the in-season fixes.
One of the first moves to revisit is the trade that brought back Garcia, Oviedo and Samaniego. Better known as “The Password,” Garcia was the centerpiece, but his first year in Pittsburgh was uneven.
He appeared in 20 MLB games and never really settled in at the plate. Oviedo spent most of the season sidelined by an elbow issue, while Samaniego delivered a 2.66 ERA over 20 appearances.
With Garcia’s power potential and arm strength still part of the equation, the trade feels too early to judge definitively.
The Pirates also added Soto, and that move paid off in a big way. The veteran lefty turned in his best season since his back-to-back All-Star years in 2021-22, posting a 3.63 ERA across 69 games while handling high-leverage work.
His best stretch came in July and August, when he gave up just four earned runs over 24 innings, struck out 27, and logged a 1.50 ERA. That kind of production won’t come cheap this winter.
Then there was the trade that looks like one of the best in recent franchise history. Lowe became one of the top second basemen in the sport, launching 35 home runs and sharpening his defense.
Montgomery was just as valuable, emerging as one of baseball’s top relievers and saving 18 games. Mangum also gave the Pirates real value, filling in for Oneil Cruz for much of the summer and holding his own.
He was later named the Pittsburgh BBWAA chapter’s Good Guy Award winner.
The free-agent market also delivered. O’Hearn’s contract was the largest the Pirates have ever handed out to a free-agent position player, and he backed it up with a career-high 18 home runs and 76 RBIs despite dealing with multiple quad issues.
His biggest moment came on July 7, when he drove in 10 runs in a single game. He’s expected to spend more time at first base in 2027.
Not every move worked out as cleanly. Nicolas was designated for assignment three times after the trade - first by the Reds, then the Orioles, then the Nationals.
Callihan gave Pittsburgh some defensive flexibility in 40 games before a July slump knocked him out of the Majors. His top moment was a memorable one: his first MLB home run came against Shohei Ohtani.
The lesson from all of it is pretty clear. Pittsburgh did make some in-season additions to shore up the bullpen and cover other needs, but the offseason work carried the most weight.
Lowe and O’Hearn were major reasons the Pirates finished sixth in OPS as a team after ranking last in 2025. And perhaps the biggest win of all was Montgomery, whose growth gives the Pirates a possible closer for years to come since he won’t reach free agency until after the 2030 season.
So as this offseason begins, the Pirates have a simple question in front of them: how do they build on the moves that changed their 2026 season?
In Other News...
Pirates Just Sent A Frustrating Message About Paul Skenes
Paul Skenes spent his first two major league seasons setting a standard that made almost anything short of dominance feel like a letdown, and Pirates pitching coach Bill Murphy did little to soften that reality. Murphy described Skenes 2026 campaign as really, really good, even as the right-hander showed some regression from the level he had established early in his career.
Skenes finished 2026 with a 10-11 record, a 3.82 ERA, 200 strikeouts and a 1.12 WHIP, still strong numbers by most pitchers standards but a step back from the overpowering version Pittsburgh had grown used to seeing. Skenes pointed to his World Baseball Classic participation as a possible factor, saying it may have affected his preparation and led to mechanical inconsistency and reduced velocity, which leaves the Pirates with a familiar question: how much of this was a blip, and how much is a warning sign? [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Offseason Pitching Plan Is Starting To Take Shape
Ben Cherington made it clear at the GM Meetings that the Pirates offseason priority is already taking shape on the mound, where the organization wants to add more left-handed pitching. Pittsburghs projected rotation for 2027 leans heavily to the right side, and the current roster offers only limited left-handed options, a balance the front office clearly wants to address.
Cherington said the club will look to improve through both free agency and trades, which gives the Pirates some flexibility as they map out the winter. The specifics are still to come, though, and for now the bigger takeaway is that Pittsburgh knows the shape of the problem even if it has not yet settled on the names that might solve it. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Still Face A Big Endy Rodrguez Decision For 2027
Endy Rodrguezs latest rehab update gives the Pirates a little more clarity heading into 2027, even if the bigger picture around his role is still taking shape. General manager Ben Cherington said the catcher is progressing well after season-ending left hip labrum surgery in August 2026, and the expectation is that Rodrguez will be ready for the next season.
For Pittsburgh, the encouraging part is not just the recovery timeline but the belief that Rodrguez can still matter behind the plate after injuries have repeatedly interrupted his development. The Pirates have not lost faith in his future as a catcher, which is why his return will be one of the more closely watched pieces of their roster planning once spring training gets closer. [Read more 🡒]