Pirates Morning Report: The 97 Game Disaster.

When this season started, I was pessimistic. I became more pessimistic when the Pirates made their final roster moves. I thought this was going to be a season where we would eventually see some young players get an opportunity. Instead, all we saw was them still languishing in AAA. Even when a few of them got called up, they rarely played. The Pirate philosophy of player development seems to be that observation and stagnation are better than participation. At the season’s start, who would have thought that Bubba Chandler wouldn’t appear by the All-Star break? Similarly, who would have thought that Nick Yorke wouldn’t appear by then either? As we will see, it is not like there was very good performances at the Major League level. After 97 games, the Pirates’ record stands at 39-58. What is amazing is that certain parts of the Pirates are performing better than they have in about a decade. However, all of this is being nullified by an offense that is performing worse than any offense in a century. I have stated this many times before; Pirate management does nothing about it. The offensive woes of the Pirates are nothing new. In 2023, they were shut out 16 times. This put them 10th on the all-time list of being shut out. This current crop of hitless wonders has been shut out 12 times already. They are threatening to crack the top 5. Let’s dive in and take a closer look at this historically bad offense.

They are last in baseball in runs scored per game. They are tied for last in the comparison stat of OPS+. They are dead last in all of these offensive categories: home runs, doubles, RBIs, and slugging. This team has absolutely no power. The best of the worst is they get on base just a little better. Their on-base percentage is .300, putting them 27th in the league. According to WAR, their best position player is the left fielder, ranking 18th in the league. Their worst players are their 1st baseman and right fielder, coming in at 26th in the league. Everyone else is in between. Yet the Pirates have not replaced one player. They finally sent down Jared Triolo and his OPS+ of 46 in 160 plate appearances. Ben Cherrington gave him a ringing endorsement, saying he is part of the Pirate future. The Pirates have complete faith in him. I do too. I have total faith that he will never hit above .200. The big disappointments this season are Bryan Reynolds, Spence Horwitz, and Joey Bart. At the moment, they are the worst three players on the Pirates. That is saying something when a team has Henry Davis and Tommy Pham on it. With Pham’s recent hot streak, he is the 3rd best performer that the Pirates have. Oneil Cruz and Isiah Kiner-Falefa are the only ones that have had a better season, but not by much. There have been some positive surprises with the position players this year. Henry Davis has improved his defense significantly. At the very least, he should share the catching duties with Bart. Nick Gonzales is becoming a very unique Pirate. He is the only Pirate in the last 3 years who seems to be improving. He is making progress at the Major League level. His OPS+ has gone from 66 to 96 to 106 in 2025. This, despite missing close to 60 games because of an undiagnosed broken ankle. He still needs to improve his fielding. Some of that could be due to the ankle still being in recovery mode. Of the 13 position players that the Pirates have, only 3 should have a future with the Pirates. They are Cruz, Gonzales, and Davis. I thought I would never be saying this about Davis. The only borderline case is Joey Bart. All the rest should be moved out one way or the other. Now let’s get to the good part of this team.

Without a doubt, the most surprising thing about this team has been their defense. Their defensive efficiency rating is .717, which is second in all of baseball. This is the best defense the Pirates have had in over a decade. Combine that with a pitching staff that is ranked 6th overall in baseball. Their bullpen is ranked 5th and the rotation is ranked 5th. The rotation could be better if the Pirates ever did anything with the 5th starter. You would think that this should be a team that would be in the playoff hunt. After all, it is the old baseball saying that pitching and defense is what really wins games. This is what makes the offensive situation even more frustrating. If just a little bit had been done to strengthen this team offensively, they actually might be in contention. Will the Pirates finally move out what I call the dead wood: Reynolds, Hayes, Frazier, IKF, Horwitz, and Pham? I am all for giving Jack Suwinski one last shot. What have you got to lose at this point? If they get two powerful bats who can hit above the league average, they could start a run. Bring up Nick Yorke and you get a third improved bat. That does not seem like much, does it? It must be, though. The Pirate management team sure can’t seem to do it. Tomorrow, I am going to go to more pleasant times. I’ll revisit 1960. I’ll look at the season when Don Hoak helped lead the Pirates to their 3rd World Series title. I call it the season that time forgot.