The Pirates’ offseason pitching plan is starting to come into focus, and Ben Cherington made one thing clear at the GM Meetings: left-handed arms matter.
Pittsburgh already knows it has to reinforce the staff this winter. The bullpen can’t afford another first-half stretch like the one it just survived, and the rotation could use more veteran support behind a young group. But Cherington’s comments pointed to a more specific priority, one that could shape how the front office attacks free agency and the trade market.
“We see the advantage of having left-handed pitching at PNC Park,” Cherington said. “We see how many left-handed hitters are in the game today. We want to put ourselves in a position to combat that as well as we possibly can.”
That gives the Pirates a clearer lens for the winter, even if Cherington didn’t name names or single out any one position. The broader message was straightforward: improve the staff, and do it with balance.
Ben Cherington at today's GM Meetings: "The only thing we're focused on is improvement... we'll pursue that through free agency and trade."
On the front office mindset when building the #Pirates roster: "Be urgent but not in a rush. Be ready." pic.twitter.com/cXV7bsgjOR
- SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) November 11, 2026
Right now, the Pirates are thin on lefties in a way that stands out. Their projected 2027 rotation is entirely right-handed, while the bullpen’s presumed southpaws are closer Mason Montgomery and middle reliever Brandon Eisert. Hunter Barco and Evan Sisk are the only other left-handers on the 40-man roster, and neither has much big-league mileage yet, with fewer than 90 MLB innings between them.
That shortage is real, even if the results from the lefties they did use were strong. In 2026, Pittsburgh ranked third from the bottom in innings from left-handed pitchers with 214⅔, but those arms still produced a 3.69 ERA, good for 10th in the majors, along with a 3.32 FIP that ranked second.
The issue isn’t quality. It’s volume.
That opens the door to a few different kinds of moves. A left-handed starter would give the Pirates a different look, even if it’s a back-end option such as Matthew Boyd or Kris Bubic. If the club’s plans for Carmen Mlodzinski and Mitch Keller shift the shape of the staff, Pittsburgh could also chase a lefty who can cover multiple jobs - starting, bulk relief, or shorter stints - like David Peterson or Sean Newcomb.
A left-handed reliever is less urgent because Montgomery is already in place, but there’s still room to add competition for Eisert and Sisk. And if the Pirates decide that another pursuit, such as Brandon Lowe, takes up most of the available budget, they could always circle back to the trade market to solve the left-handed pitching need that Cherington just put in plain view.
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 Blueprint Just Got Much More Interesting
The Pirates finally gave their fan base something it had been waiting years to see, as an 11-win jump in 2026 carried Pittsburgh to its first winning record since 2018. A big reason was the front offices willingness to reshape the roster last winter, with offseason trades and signings bringing in a group that included Garcia, Soto, Lowe, Montgomery, Mangum and OHearn, all of whom helped stabilize the club in different ways.
What makes the next offseason so intriguing is how much of that turnaround appears tied to the new faces, especially Lowe and Montgomery, who emerged as real assets rather than short-term fillers. Pittsburgh now has a much clearer sense of what worked and what didnt, and the challenge is no longer simply finding ways to improve, but deciding which of those moves should be the foundation for the next step forward. [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 🡒]