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Pittsburgh Pirates Rebuild - 2026 Off Season

  • Writer: IamCogs
    IamCogs
  • Nov 10
  • 6 min read

The 2026 Off-season was an eventful one. With the success that comes with winning a World Series, and an owner that is..less than happy to open up the check book, a lot of touch decisions faced the Pittsburgh Pirates. Let's dive into the changes.


Award Winners

American League

  • MVP: SS Gunnar Henderson (80/80) .290/.393/.550, 38 HR, 93 RBI, 159 wRC+, 8.0 WAR

  • Cy Young: LHP Tarik Skubal (71/71) 15-8, 2.73 ERA, 224.0 IP, 253 K, 8.7 WAR

  • RotY: 1B Hunter Owen (52/52) .249/.328/.546, 29 HR, 60 RBI, 140 wRC+, 2.1 WAR

  • Reliver of the Year: RHP Jhoan Duran (70/70) 8-7, 1.45 ERA, 40 SV, 70 K, 2.0 WAR

  • Gold Gloves: P Jose Berrios (2), C Jake Rogers (2), 1B Colt Keith (2), 2B Andres Gimenez (5), 3B Paul DeJong (1) SS Carson Williams (1), LF Alexander Canario (1), CF Daulton Varsho (3), RF Wilyer Abreu (3)

  • Silver Sluggers: C Yainer Diaz (1), 1B Yordan Alvarez (2), 2B Jackson Holliday (1), 3B Royce Lewis (1), SS Gunnar Henderson (2), LF Wyatt Langford (2), CF Julio Rodriguez (4), RF Evan Carter (1), DH Anthony Santander (2)


National League

  • MVP: CF Michael Harris II (80/80) .356/.387/.631 40 HR, 126 RBI, 185 wRC+, 10.2 WAR

  • Cy Young: RHP Paul Skenes (80/80) 20-5, 1.69 ERA, 208.0 IP, 259 K, 8.7 WAR

  • RotY: 1B Charlie Condon (53/62) .264/.326/.478 23 HR, 59 RBI, 118 wRC+ 2.2 WAR

  • Reliver of the Year: CL Edwin Diaz (70/70) 5-3, 1.71 ERA, 40 SV, 80 K, 2.3 WAR

  • Gold Gloves: P Kodai Senga (1), C Patrick Bailey (2), 1B Deyvison De Los Santos (1), 2B Nico Hoerner (3), 3B Matt Chapman (6), SS Franciso Lindor (4), LF Jack Suwinski (1), CF Jose Siri (1), RF Josh Palacios (1)

  • Silver Sluggers: C Gabriel Moreno (1), 1B Juan Soto (6), 2B Luis Garcia Jr. (1), 3B Matt Chapman (1), SS Bo Bichette (1), LF Jack Suwinski (1), CF Michael Harris II (2), RF Ronald Acuna Jr. (4), DH Shohei Ohtani (4)


Team Awards

The following earned hardware for the 2026 season.

  • Gold Gloves: LF Jack Suwinski (1), RF Josh Palacios (1)

  • Silver Sluggers: SS Bo Bichette (1), LF Jack Suwinski (1)

  • Manager of the Year: ME!!! (1)

  • Cy Young: RHP Paul Skenes (2)


Roster Moves

Players Leaving

The following players had their arbitration withdrawn:

  • LHP Baily Falter (41/41) [Unsigned]

And the following players were allowed to leave for free agency:

  • 1B Anthony Rizzo (45/45) [St. Louis Cardinals]

  • RHP Kirby Yates (42/42) [Unsigned]

  • RHP Hunter Stratton (42/42) [Unsigned]

  • LHP Evan Lee (42/42) [Unsigned]


Additions

Arbitration:

  • RHP Paul Skenes (80/80) $15,625,000

  • CF Jack Suwinski (52/52) $8,400,000

  • RHP Jared Jones (50/53) $5,288,800

  • C Henry Davis (54/54) $5,267,000

  • RF Josh Palacios (47/47) $5,035,800

  • 3B Eguy Rosario (47/47) $2,979,600

  • RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (45/45) $1,690,500

  • RHP Jesus Tinoco (46/46) $1,150,000

  • RHP Dedniel Nunez (48/48) $1,100,00


Pending Free Agents Re-signed:

  • RHP Dennis Santana (45/45) 3 year, 1.7AAV.


Players claimed off Waivers:

  • LHP John King (45/45) 1 year, $1,400,000.


Free Agency

Just 1 player added via free agency:

  • RF Jorge Soler (44/44) 1 year, $3,000,000.


Trades

A lot of wheeling and dealing in the offseason to figure out the budget constraints.

  • Saturday, Nov. 7th 2026: 27 y/o 2B Nick Gonzales was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for 24 y/o 3B Coby Mayo (52/62).

    • I think we get away with one here, the Orioles scouting team may have severely overrated Gonzales' value while underrating Mayo's. With Mayo's decent splits against LHP and RHP, and untapped potential, he will be seeing plenty of starts at the hot corner.

  • Sunday, Nov. 8th 2026: 31 y/o RF Bryan Reynolds was traded to the Minnesota Twins getting 24 y/o 1B Orelvis Martinez (45/52) and 23 y/o Kaelen Culpepper (39/45).

    • Reynolds was due to make $15,000,000 in 2026 and for his production and age it was no longer feasible to roster him. Orelvis is near MLB ready and has good splits vs. LHP and RHP, hopefully an answer at 1B instead of platooning.

    • Reynolds leaves the Pirates hitting a total of 152 homeruns, good for 9th all time in team history.

  • Thursday, Nov. 19th 2026: 28 y/o CF Oniel Cruz (52/53), 19 y/o minor league RHP CJ Gray (29/52), and 24 y/o RHP Bubba Chandler (47/49) were traded to the Los Angeles Angels for 27 y/o LHP Reid Detmers (57/58) and minor league 17 y/o RF Jorge Soreni (24/46) and $20,000,000 in cash.

    • This move shored up two issues facing us, the lack of quality starting LHP, and cash needed for arbitration and free agency.

  • Wednesday, Dec. 2nd 2025: 27 y/o 3B Eguy Rosario (47/47) was sent to the Los Angeles Angels for 27 y/o RF Jo Adell (50/50), in addition the Angels retain 50% of Adell's salary.

    • Adell will fill the hole in the outfield left by Oniel Cruz, providing a stop gap allowing CF Kevin Alcantara (45/64) time to develop in AAA and hopefully be ready for call up in late 2027.

Rule 5 Draft

No additions via Rule 5 Draft. Last year addition RHP Dedniel Nunez (48/48) remains a part of the pitching staff.


International Amateurs

The following players were signed to deals as International Amateurs:

  • 16 y/o Willie Cortez (23/71) from the Dominican Republic was signed with a $2,630,000 bonus.

  • 16 y/o Felipe Cantu (22/80) from the Dominican Republic was signed with a $2,600,000 bonus.


MLB News

Notable MLB Trades

  • 28 y/o RHP Mason Miller goes to the Atlanta Braves while the Atheletics receive 3 prospects in return.

  • 34 y/o C Willson Contreras (49/49) gets sent from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Cincinnati Reds for some prospects.

  • The New York Yankees send LHP Carlos Rodon (56/56) to the Toronto Blue Jays for a prospect package.

  • The Chicago Cubs get RHP Zack Wheeler (53/53) from the Philadelphia Phillies for a pair of minor leaguers.


Notable MLB Free Agents


2026 Hall of Fame

Just one player enters the Hall of Fame:

  • SS Alex Rodriguez inducted with 77.5% of the vote

    • 3x MVP, 2x Gold Glove, 10x Silver Slugger, 14x All-Star

Other players getting votes:

  • CF Andruw Jones, 66.8% of the vote

  • LF Ryan Bruan, 56.0% of the vote

  • LHP Andy Pettitte, 38.3% of the vote

  • LHP Jon Lester, 30.2% of the vote


2026 Roster

Pitching
ree

Starting Pitchers:

  1. RHP Paul Skenes (80/80)

  2. RHP Jared Jones (50/53)

  3. LHP Reid Detmers (57/58)

  4. RHP Logan Gilbert (57/57)

  5. RHP Mel Ramos (53/53)


Caleb Ferguson more than earned the closing role after a stellar 2026 where he posted a 1.06 ERA and 29 saves. In 51.0 IP he struck out 52, and allowed no homeruns all year.


Batting
ree

Notable first year players to make the roster are bench infielder Tsung-Che Cheng (44/47) and backup 1B Tyler Locklear (45/45).


I feel like I'm doing something wrong with development, despite most players having career years, they seem to have all taken steps back in their overall rating. Bo Bichette was a 54 at one point last year, Josh Palacios a 53, Jack Suwinski a 55, and Henry Davis a 58. I guess we have no choice but to play it out and see how things go.


Lineups
ree

  • Spots 1-4 will look to remain consistent, against LHP and RHP, Bichette and Suwinski were ultra reliable RBI producers, while Palacios often paced the offense with his ability to get on base, and get into scoring position. Termarr Johnson lead the team in OBP in 2026, so he slots into the 2 hole nicely.

  • Henry Davis settled into the 5 hole nicely last year, knocking in a career high 72 runs, while also setting career highs in OBP (.363), OPS (.808) and Slugging (.445).

  • We're still waiting on Kyle Manzardo's power numbers to make the jump. he hit just 18 homeruns in 142 games in 2026. By comparison he had hit 19 in 104 before being acquired by us in Cleveland.

  • Jo Adell has good pop against RHP hitting 20 HR last season in LAA. he will be a solid bottom of the lineup power bat.

  • Youngsters Coby Mayo, Chris Newell, Tsung-Che Cheng, and Tyler Locklear will all see starts to start the season to see what they have.

  • Jorge Soler had a .770 OPS against lefties last year and a career .782 overall. With 223 HR to his belt, we're hoping he can provide a little extra pop to a team that struggled hitting the long ball overall in 2026.

Position ranks compared to the rest of the MLB:

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2026 Farm System

The Pirates enter the 2027 with the 12th best farm system in the MLB, with 4 top 100 prospects. Here are the organizations top 10 prospects:

  1. AA 23 y/o LHP Jamie Arnold (39/54)

  2. R 20 y/o LF Edward Florentino (31/49)

  3. R 22 y/o LHP Christian Lim (32/55)

  4. R 21 y/o LHP Ronaldys Jimenez (32/45)

  5. AAA 26 y/o RHP Jose Rodriguez (41/43)

  6. R 18 y/o C Julio Mendosa (21/47)

  7. AAA 24 y/o LHP Magdiel Cotto (42/46)

  8. AA 22 y/o 3B Jhonny Severino (41/47)

  9. A 20 y/o RHP Levi Sterling (34/48)

  10. R 20 y/o LHP Reinold Navarro (27/42)


Bringing us finally to the start of the 2027 season. The defending World Series champion Pirates will host the Kansas City Royals to open the season, then the Seattle Mariners come to town for a 3 game set. Then it's up to Toronto to take on the Blue Jays for 3, then down to Chicago to square off with the rival Cubs for another 3.


Can we go back-to-back despite so much roster upheaval? We'll see how things look after the first 41.

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