The Pirates have spent too many winters talking themselves into uncertainty. They’ve sold it as depth, called it competition, and acted as if a pile of possibilities can substitute for a real plan. That trick has worn thin.
After the 2026 season, Pittsburgh will have decisions to make all over the roster. But three spots stand out as the ones Ben Cherington can’t leave hanging heading into the 2026-27 offseason: catcher, second base and third base.
The Pirates don’t need an All-Star at every one of them. They do need answers.
Catcher is the first place where the fog has to clear. Henry Davis has shown enough recent offensive life to keep the conversation open, and his power still gives him intrigue.
He’s also made real defensive progress behind the plate. But none of that adds up to a clean handoff to him as the 2027 starter without a backup plan.
Endy Rodríguez makes the situation even trickier. He had surgery in August to repair the labrum in his left hip and was given a seven-to-nine-month recovery timeline.
Even if everything goes right, that leaves his status for the start of next season very much up in the air. The Pirates can’t just assume he’ll be ready on time, take on a heavy workload right away and look like the same player who was producing before the injury.
Then there’s Rafael Flores Jr., who has given the organization another reason to feel better about its catching pipeline. His offense has been one of the more encouraging developments in the system this season, and he’s worked his way into the future mix. But a promising young catcher is still a work in progress, not a finished answer.
8️⃣th HR this season for Flo to make the score of this game 8️⃣-0! pic.twitter.com/bp2MnG1dut
- Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 9, 2026
So if Pittsburgh believes Davis is the guy, the move is to find a veteran backup who can handle real innings while Flores develops and Rodríguez returns. If the club still isn’t sold on Davis, then catcher has to be a much bigger offseason priority. Either way, the Pirates can’t let hope pass for certainty here.
Second base brings a different kind of pressure. Brandon Lowe has given Pittsburgh exactly the sort of offense it has been missing at the position for years.
He’s supplied middle-of-the-order pop and is in the middle of a legitimate Silver Slugger case. That production matters because it shows what the Pirates have been lacking - and what they can’t afford to lose.
Whether Lowe stays in the long-term picture will come down to contract decisions and how willing ownership is to spend. But if he’s not back - and he likely won’t be - the Pirates can’t just plug in whoever is available and call it a day.
Nick Gonzales can play second. So can other players in the organization.
That’s not the same as having a real solution. Pittsburgh finally has the bones of a lineup that can be dangerous when healthy, with Konnor Griffin expected to be a fixture, Oneil Cruz bringing huge upside and Ryan O’Hearn providing quality offense when available.
Taking Lowe’s bat out of that group and replacing it with a question mark would be a familiar kind of self-inflicted damage.
The standard here is simple: replace the offense, not just the body.
Third base may be the clearest case of all. The Pirates have already spent plenty of this season trying to figure out who belongs there, and that kind of uncertainty cannot spill into spring training.
Jared Triolo remains the defensive floor. Nick Gonzales has enough bat to enter the discussion, though his glove makes him a clunky long-term fit.
Jacob Gonzalez is getting a chance, but the organization still has to learn whether he can hit enough to be more than a defense-first option.
That’s not a settled picture. It’s a holding pattern.
The Ke’Bryan Hayes era ended because Pittsburgh decided elite defense wasn’t enough if the bat couldn’t support everyday value. It would make little sense to turn right around and repeat the same problem with another player.
The Pirates need someone at third who can hit at a league-average level and make the routine plays. For a team that says it wants to contend, that shouldn’t be too much to ask.
That’s the thread connecting all three spots. Pittsburgh is beyond the point where every offseason can be treated like a development exercise. The roster has enough foundation now to demand urgency.
Catcher can’t be Davis or bust. Flores’ rise can’t become an excuse to delay.
Second base can’t turn into a downgrade on offense. Third base can’t be another months-long experiment.
The Pirates need certainty this winter. After years of entering seasons with obvious holes and hoping somebody fills them, that alone would count as progress.
In Other News...
Pirates Just Lost A Young Starter At The Worst Possible Time
Braxton Ashcrafts season has ended in frustrating fashion, with the Pirates placing the right-hander on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Sept. 7 because of discomfort in his throwing arm. Manager Don Kelly said the club does not expect Ashcraft to pitch again in 2026, though the tests so far have not shown any structural damage, a small bit of relief in an otherwise unwelcome update for a team trying to piece together innings down the stretch.
The timing is especially rough for a Pirates staff already bracing for a bullpen game in the next turn through the rotation. Pittsburgh moved quickly to bring up a right-hander from Triple-A Indianapolis to fill Ashcrafts roster spot, but the larger concern is the loss of a young arm the club would have rather protected as it finished the year. A season that had already tested the Pirates pitching depth just got a little thinner. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Rotation Pressure Just Got Worse With Braxton Ashcraft Concern
Braxton Ashcrafts rapid rise from a lower-workload role to a meaningful part of the Pirates rotation picture hit a snag this week, as the right-hander was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Sept. 7 because of right arm discomfort. Early indications suggest the issue does not appear structural, but testing is still ongoing, leaving the club to wait and see how long it might be without one of its more intriguing arms.
For Pittsburgh, the timing adds another layer of strain to a rotation that already has Mitch Keller on the injured list. Ashcrafts workload had jumped significantly from the previous season, and the Pirates were trying to see how much he could handle as the year wore on. Instead, they are now juggling another pitching question at a point in the schedule where every healthy starter matters. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Suddenly Face A Braxton Ashcraft Concern They Didn't Expect
Braxton Ashcrafts latest turn for the Pirates has been put on hold, with the right-hander landing on the 15-day injured list because of right arm discomfort. The move forced Pittsburgh to bring up Antwone Kelly from Triple-A Indianapolis, a reminder of how quickly a pitching staff can get thinned out even when the initial diagnosis does not sound especially severe.
Don Kelly said the concern does not appear to be structural, but the club is still running further tests as it tries to get a clearer read on the situation. For a Pirates team that has leaned on finding reliable arms wherever it can, the timing is less than ideal, and the next update on Ashcrafts condition could shape how the bullpen and rotation pieces are shuffled in the days ahead. [Read more 🡒]