2025 Pittsburgh Pirates

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Hello, my name is PJ Bishop and I’ll be taking over the Pittsburgh Pirates as both GM and manager. Coming off 6 straight losing seasons and missing the playoffs for 9 straight seasons we are in the rebuilding phase. Be as that may I am looking to compete right away and make any changes necessary to get the club back in the playoffs soon as possible. I intend on playing out every single game and make most of the decisions for the MLB club. I will micro manage any top prospect but the day to day runnings of the minor leagues will be handled by the assistant GM Ben Cherington.

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March 14, 2025
Fired bench coach Don Kelly, pitching coach Oscar Marin, hitting coach Matt Hague, 1B coach Tarrik Brock, scouting director Joe Dellocarri, and team trainer Rafael Freitas.

Promoted Andy Fox to 1B coach and Eric Munson to hitting coach.

March 16th, 2025
Hired Rick Jameyson as team trainer, John Farrell as pitching coach, Buck Showealter as bench coach, and Scott Pleis as scouting director.

March 27th, 2025
The Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals have come to a trade agreement. Pittsburgh sends 33yo LHP Tim Mayza and 24yo minor league LHP Hunter Barco in exchange for 30yo RHP Ryan Helsley. St. Louis will retain 50% of the remaining contract.

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SP1 - RHP Paul Skenes 22yo entering his 2nd season with Pittsburgh and overall. Coming off being named an All-Star and NL Rookie of the Year the sky is the limit for this young ace. Skenes is a true ace that should be able to lead Pittsburgh for a decade plus and bring home a World Series before he hangs it up.

SP2 - RHP Mitch Keller 28yo entering his 7th season all with Pittsburgh.

SP3 - LHP Joey Wentz 27yo entering his 2nd season with Pittsburgh and 4th overall. Claimed off waivers last season and showed a little promise coming out of the bullpen but will have a chance to hold down a rotation spot to start the season.

SP4 - LHP Andrew Heaney 33yo entering his 1st season with Pittsburgh and 12th overall. Solid veteran presence in the rotation that holds a respectable career ERA of 4.46.

SP5 - RHP Braxton Ashcraft 25yo rookie. Braxton wins the 5th spot and will get a long look while both Jared Jones and Johan Oviedo recover from injury. Much less pressure than Skenes to succeed but this is the big leagues and the former 2nd round pick will need to perform well to stay in the rotation and on the active roster.

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CL - RHP Ryan Helsley 30yo entering his 1st season with Pittsburgh and 7th overall. Ryan is a recent acquisition from St. Louis and will immediately take over the closing duties. He’s coming off an All-Star season and NL Reliever of the Year after making 49 saves with a 2.04 ERA.

SU/CL - RHP Colin Holderman 29yo entering his 4th season with Pittsburgh and 4th overall. Coming off his best season in the bigs, Colin is rewarded with a prominent role out of the bullpen as the primary setup man and backup closer.

SU - LHP Caleb Ferguson 28yo entering his 1st season with Pittsburgh and 7th overall. Coming off a mixed season. Struggled with the Yankees but performed much better in Houston. We are hoping to get the Houston version.

MR - RHP David Bednar 30yo entering his 5th season with Pittsburgh and 7th overall. After back to back All-Star appearances Bednar made a complete 180 and looked lost and out of his depths. He labored to a 5.77 ERA in 57.2 IP by the end of 2024. Expected to perform as the primary bullpen arm the Pirates need the David that they have grew accustomed to not the 2024 disaster.

MR - RHP Carmen Mlodzinski 26yo entering his 3rd season with Pittsburgh and overall. Since his 2023 debut Carmen has been extremely solid with a career 2.91 ERA in 86.2 IP.

MR/Mop - RHP Dennis Santana 28yo entering his 2nd season with Pittsburgh and 8th overall. Claimed off waivers last season and put in solid work with a 2.44 ERA in 27.1 IP. Dennis performed well above his career average so some regression is expected.

MR/Mop - RHP Burch Smith 34yo entering his 1st season with Pittsburgh and 7th overall. Despite his age Smith hasn’t played many seasons in the MLB. Below average career wise and is expected to eat innings when down or up big.

LR/ESP - LHP Bailey Falter 27yo entering his 3rd season with Pittsburgh and 5th overall. Falter has played the bulk of his career as a starter but will be transitioning to a full-time bullpen role.

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1 - DH Andrew McCutchen 38yo entering his 12th season with Pittsburgh and 17th overall. Andrew may not be the 2013 MVP version of himself but still respectable enough to take the leadoff spot both vs righties and lefties. His Gold Glove caliber defense is long gone and will be operating as the primary DH.

2 - LF Adam Frazier 33yo entering his 7th season with Pittsburgh and 10th overall. Adam will hold down the strong side of the platoon at LF batting 2nd vs righties and heading to the bench vs lefties in favor of Enmanuel Valdez.

3 - RF Oneil Cruz 26yo entering his 5th season all with Pittsburgh. Coming off his first 20/20 season Cruz is expected to back that up again batting 3rd and cleanup vs lefties. I’ve decided to move him to RF where his cannon of an arm and solid bat profiles well.

4 - 1B Bryan Reynolds 30yo entering his 7th season all with Pittsburgh. Bryan will be tasked to make the same transition as Bryce Harper going from the OF to 1B. Bryan is a solid bat and will hit at the top of the lineup, cleanup and 2nd vs lefties. He’s coming off 4 straight seasons of 24+ HR’s and an All-Star appearance last year.

5 - CF Jack Suwinski 26yo entering his 4th season all with Pittsburgh. Jack is a talented defender and has plus power but it comes with a lot of swing and miss. He will operate as the primary CF and bat 5th vs both righties and lefties. In 2023 he showed some promise but quickly regressed in 2024 and spent a significant portion of the season in AAA.

6 - C Joey Bart 28yo entering his 2nd season with Pittsburgh and 6th overall. Joey is an above average defender with the ability to be an average presence in the lineup. He had his best season to date last year and will look to maintain his success heading into 2025 as the primary catcher.

7 - 2B Nick Gonzales 25yo entering his 3rd season all with Pittsburgh. Nick is a good enough defender at 2B to get the full time duties but will need to continue progressing as a hitter in order to stay in the lineup.

8 - 3B Jared Triolo 27yo entering his 3rd season all with Pittsburgh. Good defender at 3B but will need to get on base and make something happen on the basepaths. Bishop is expecting 30+ steals on the year for Triolo if he is to maintain the primary spot at 3B.

9 - SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa 30yo entering his 2nd season with Pittsburgh and 8th overall. Well below average hitter but it’s the glove work that will help keep him in the lineup. If he can just be serviceable with his bat the everyday role at SS is his.

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#27 2B/SS/CF Termarr Johnson 20yo (AA) - The former 1st round pick is still on track to be a contributor at the MLB level but with much less hype. Still projected to be a solid bat to ball hitter with average pop and ability to steal. At his peak 20/20 isn’t unreasonable and he will be a versatile enough defender that we can get his bat in the lineup somewhere. Did get moved to CF this spring so some growing pains are expected.

#37 RHP Thomas Harrington 23yo (AAA) - First round pick back in 2022 Harrington is almost MLB ready. Thomas projects to be a 4th/5th starter in a rotation. He will need to give up less HR’s if he expects to have a nice long career in the MLB.

#38 RHP Bubba Chandler 22yo (AAA) - Bubba is on the cusp of making his MLB debut; a bit more seasoning and the much anticipated debut could occur later this year. Chandler should fill the role of a #3 starter and be a major part of a future Pirates World Series team. Currently his fastball sits at 96-98 and he offers a total of 4 pitches projected to be above average or better.

#52 3B/SS/LF/CF/RF Konnor Griffin 18yo (FCL) - Konnor is the crown jewel of our prospects. He’s a true 5 tool player that could finish his career as a Hall of Famer. Long way to go as he’s just 18 and will make his pro ball debut later this May.

#96 RHP Carlos Castillo 19yo (A) - Carlos projects to be a 5th starter/bullpen arm. Not particularly great at anything but solid overall with 3 pitches that grade to be above average or better.

[Pelican]

A good start. I have been attempting a similar revive. In my case, I imagined a new owner with deep pockets. So I was able to acquire/sign Rhys Hoskins to play 1B, a huge upgrade over Conner Joe. I traded away Hayes and his .600 OPS. Time to move on to a productive 3B. Admittedly it's way easier with funds, even if my payroll will still be around MLB average when I'm done. Which means it's a crime what the current owner has failed to do. He even leaves the low-hanging fruit on the tree. Fails to fill obvious holes that make it impossible to win, even in a weak Division.

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Originally Posted by Pelican

A good start. I have been attempting a similar revive. In my case, I imagined a new owner with deep pockets. So I was able to acquire/sign Rhys Hoskins to play 1B, a huge upgrade over Conner Joe. I traded away Hayes and his .600 OPS. Time to move on to a productive 3B. Admittedly it's way easier with funds, even if my payroll will still be around MLB average when I'm done. Which means it's a crime what the current owner has failed to do. He even leaves the low-hanging fruit on the tree. Fails to fill obvious holes that make it impossible to win, even in a weak Division.

Thx, I’m a big Paul Skenes fan and don’t want to see him rot away like Mike Trout will in LA. I’ll live with the owner we have and hopefully he sells the team soon enough as I hate penny pinching owners and their unrealistic goals. I slid Bryan over to 1B as his bat is good enough for now to help us and once Andrew retires Bryan can take over the DH slot as I’d rather have a more traditional 1B with a bit more pop and a better defender than Bryan. Hayes has value to me as a super utility role player but I don’t expect much on the offensive side. I stuck Triolo at 3B but I don’t see that as a long term fix as he’s arguably similar to Hayes. All the cheap owners are pretty much stealing. Most of them are billionaires or related to billionaires so it’s not like they couldn’t spend the money if they wanted to. It’s not a strong division but Chicago and St. Louis can spend money and have the market to do so. I still think I can build a World Series team in Pittsburgh and they do have some nice starting pieces to build around.

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March 28th, 2025
SP Mitch Keller suffered a mild abdominal strain and had to be pulled from his start. He’s expected to miss his next start.

March 30th, 2025
RF Oneil Cruz injured his back and will sit out a game to help recover.

March 31st, 2025
CF Jack Suwinski wins NL Player of the Week after going 6-12 1 HR 1 RBI 8 R and 10 SB.

Braxton Ashcraft made his MLB debut and it was one to forget. In 5 innings he got roughed up for 8 hits and 4 runs, all earned, but did strike out 4 and managed to just walk one. He will have to try and bounce back vs a tough Yankees squad in his next start.

April 1st, 2025
RP Burch Smith placed on the 15 day IL with a strained abdominal muscle and is expected to miss the minimum 15 days and be activated immediately. In a corresponding move RP Hunter Stratton was recalled from AAA Indianapolis.

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April 11th, 2025
SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa strained his hamstring and will be held out for a couple of days.

April 12th, 2025
3B Oswald Peraza was claimed on waivers from the NYY.

April 13th, 2025
LF Tommy Pham was waived and DFA.
3B Oswald Peraza was added to the active roster. He will play 2B and replace Nick Gonzales in the lineup.

April 16th, 2025
LF Tommy Pham was released.
RP Hunter Stratton optioned to AAA Indianapolis.
RP Burch Smith activated from the IL.

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April 30th, 2025
Pittsburgh and Houston come to a trade agreement. Pittsburgh sends 27yo 1B Spencer Horwitz in exchange for RHP Hunter Brown.

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May 2nd, 2025
LHP Joey Wentz waived and DFA.
RHP Hunter Brown placed on the active roster. He will slide into the 3rd rotation slot and make his Pittsburgh debut later today.

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May 5th, 2025
LHP Joey Wentz assigned to AAA Indianapolis.
Pittsburgh and San Diego have come to a trade agreement. Pittsburgh sends 29yo RHP Dennis Santana and 22yo minor league LHP Connor Wietgrefe in exchange for 21yo minor league RHP Isaiah Lowe.
RHP Peter Strzelecki recalled from AAA Indianapolis.

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May 9th, 2025
SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa sustained a bruised back and will miss the next 3 games.

May 11th, 2025
CF Jack Suwinski placed on the 10 day IL with back stiffness. He’s expected to miss 1-2 weeks and may skip a rehab assignment once eligible for activation.
CF Bryce Johnson had his contract selected. He’s expected to take over the CF duties while Jack is out.

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May 17th, 2025
3B Jared Triolo strains his hamstring, he’ll likely sit out for a week.

May 21st, 2025
CF Bryce Johnson waived and DFA.
CF Jack Suwinski activated from the IL.

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May 22nd, 2025
LF Andrew McCutchen strains his hip and is expected to sit out a week.

May 24th, 2025
RHP Dauri Moreta activated off the IL and sent down to AAA Indianapolis.
CF Bryce Johnson assigned to AAA Indianapolis.
RP Burch Smith has mild hand soreness and will be held out of game action for a week.

May 25th, 2025
RF Oniel Cruz suffered a sore back and will sit out a week.

May 30th, 2025
1B Bryan Reynolds was injured and taken out of the game. He will be under further evaluation.

June 1st, 2025
RP Carmen Mlodzinski suffers a mild hamstring strain and will sit out for 3 days.

June 2nd, 2025
1B Bryan Reynolds placed on the 60 day IL with a broken kneecap. He’s expected to miss 4-5 months, possibly out for the rest of the season. He was slashing .285/.394/.435 with 7 HR, 28 RBI, and 34 SB.
Pittsburgh and Minnesota have come to a trade agreement. Pirates send 29yo minor league RF Josh Palacios and 23yo minor league 2B Nick Yorke in exchange for 33yo RHP Brock Stewart.
RF Matt Gorski had his contract selected.

June 3rd, 2025
RP Peter Strezelecki waived and DFA.
RP Brock Stewart placed on the active roster.

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June 9th, 2025
RP Peter Strzelecki assigned to AAA Indianapolis.

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June 14th, 2025
SP Johan Oviedo activated off the IL and optioned to AAA Indianapolis.

June 15th, 2025
1B Oneil Cruz sustained a back injury and is expected to sit out the next 4 days.

June 22nd, 2025
SP Jared Jones has been sent down to AAA Indianapolis to begin his rehab assignment. Pirates intend to use all 30 days of his rehab eligibility.

June 23rd, 2025
2B Nick Gonzales optioned to AAA Indianapolis.
3B Jack Brannigan had his contract selected. He’s expected to see most of his game action vs righties at either 2B or 3B.

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Heading into July and we are very much in the thick of it. At this point it’s no fluke but do we have enough to hang on for an entire season?

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July 5th, 2025
RP Burch Smith was lifted due to an injury and will be further evaluated.

July 7th, 2025
RP Burch Smith placed on the 15 day IL with a sprained elbow. He’s expected to miss 5-6 weeks. Smith was having the best year of his career sporting a 2.75 ERA in 39.1 IP on 24 appearances.
RP Peter Strzelecki was recalled from AAA Indianapolis.

July 8th, 2025
RP Luke Jackson claimed on waivers from Texas.

July 9th, 2025
RP Peter Strzelecki waived and DFA.
RP Luke Jackson placed on the active roster.