Pittsburgh Pirates: Breaking News, Rumors & Highlights

Pirates Pitching Struggles Early in Loss to Orioles

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have a strong pitching staff, but problems early on doomed them in their most recent Spring Training contest. The Pirates fell 5-2 to the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla., with the first three pitchers each giving up a home run.

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Paul Skenes makes ‘not good enough’ confession after Team USA’s World Baseball Classic loss

It will take some time for the sting of losing to Venezuela in the championship game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic to wear off for Paul Skenes and the rest of Team USA.

Seth Hernandez News / Pittsburgh Pirates on SI / March 19

Pirates Announce Spring Breakout Game Starting Pitcher

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates will have one of their best pitchers in the farm system appear in an important game for them toward the end of Spring Training.

Cincinnati Reds News / Yardbarker Quizzes

The 'Active 40-homer MLB seasons' quiz

There are 24 active MLB players with at least one 40-home run season under their belt. How many of those players can you name in five minutes?

The 'Last 30-HR season by MLB team' quiz

The '50-HR, .300 average MLB seasons' quiz

The 'Last 200-K pitcher by MLB team' quiz

Paul Skenes News / Pittsburgh Pirates on SI / March 19

Pirates Announce 2026 Opening Day Pitcher

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have just a week until Opening Day and have, unsurprisingly, picked the obvious choice for starting pitcher. RIght-handed pitcher Paul Skenes will start for the Pirates on Opening Day, as they take on the New York Mets at Citi Field on March 26.

Athletics News / Yardbarker

One storyline to follow for every MLB team in 2026

As Spring Training opens for 2026, all 30 teams have high hopes and big questions. These are the storylines to follow for each team heading into Opening Day.

Red Sox to sign former Yankees relief pitcher ahead of Opening Day

MLB announces 80-game suspension for Johan Rojas

Mets star gets help from former teammate after clubhouse issues

Three comeback arms to watch in National League East

Five X factors in the AL Central

Pittsburgh Pirates News / Pittsburgh Pirates on SI / March 19

Pirates Send Catcher Down to Triple-A

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates made a final decision on one of their catchers with just one week ahead of Opening Day. The Pirates announced that they optioned catcher Endy Rodríguez to Triple-A Indianapolis, where he'll start the 2026 season.

Pittsburgh Pirates News / New Baseball Media / March 19

2025-26 MLB Offseason Recap: Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates swung for hitting help over the winter, bringing in multiple former All-Stars in an attempt to break through in 2026. Those fresh faes will look to supply Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, and company with run support in what will be a critical season for the Bucs.

Andrew McCutchen News / Pittsburgh Pirates on SI / March 19

Pirates Made an Andrew McCutchen Mistake

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates parted ways with franchise legend Andrew McCutchen this offseason and it may come as a decision they will regret going forward.

Pittsburgh Pirates News / Pittsburgh Pirates on SI / March 19

Pirates Great on NBC Broadcast for Opening Day vs. Mets

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates will have a rare national television broadcast to start 2026 and a franchise great will play a role in it. Former Pirates second baseman Neil Walker (2009-15) will serve as one of the analysts for the NBC and Peacock broadcast of the Opening Day matchup against the New York Mets at Citi Field on March 26.

Pittsburgh Pirates News / Pittsburgh Pirates on SI / March 19

Pirates' Don Kelly Addresses Tough Konnor Griffin Decision

PITTSBURGH — Konnor Griffin is the top prospect in baseball and Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly knows it. Griffin was incredible in 2025, coming after

Pittsburgh Pirates News / Pittsburgh Pirates on SI / March 19

New 2026 PNC Park Food Items for Pirates Fans

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have a big season ahead of them with high expectations and so do the fans for what kind of food they'll get at PNC Park.

Athletics News / Yardbarker

25 MLB players that could be traded during the 2026 season

The 2026 MLB season is right around the corner, and it is never too early to start thinking about how it might unfold. Seemingly, every year, we have a decent handle on who should contend and who is likely to struggle, which makes looking ahead to the trade deadline inevitable.

Oneil Cruz News / Bucs Dugout / March 19

O’Neil Cruz’s strong WBC performance is a good sign for the 2026 season

The regular season is right around the corner and it is a crucial year for Pittsburgh Pirates Center fielder Oneil Cruz. We just saw Cruz participate in the World Baseball Classic where he played very well.

Braxton Ashcraft News / Pittsburgh Pirates on SI / March 18

Braxton Ashcraft Stars as Pirates Defeat Tigers

PITTSBURGH — Braxton Ashcraft is a key part of the Pittsburgh Pirates starting rotation and he showed exactly why in his most recent Spring Training start.

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The 'Active 100-catch NFL seasons' quiz

The 'Active multi-TD-catch NFL games' quiz

The 'MLB Rookies of the Year since 2000' quiz

The 'Active 30-point triple-doubles' quiz

Pittsburgh Pirates News / Last Word On Sports / March 18

Backup Catcher’s Hot Spring Puts Pirates in Difficult Spot

The Pittsburgh Pirates are entering this season with Henry Davis as their primary backstop. He has made some serious defensive improvements and, hopefully, can take a step forward offensively in 2026.

Konnor Griffin News / Last Word On Sports / March 18

Konnor Griffin or Bust: Pirates Only Have One Option At Shortstop

The Pittsburgh Pirates have the consensus number one prospect in all of baseball. Shortstop Konnor Griffin ranks as the best by MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, and FanGraphs.

Paul Skenes News / TheSheGotGame / March 18

‘I’ve Been Replaced’: Livvy Dunne Reacts to Paul Skenes’ Viral Team USA Selfie

Olivia ‘Livvy’ Dunne’s online sense of humour remains undefeated, as she provided yet another example showcasing her talent in this field on her boyfriend Paul Skenes’ latest Instagram post.

Paul Skenes News / MLB on ClutchPoints / March 18

Paul Skenes among 4 Team USA players on All-WBC Team

The 2026 World Baseball Classic is now complete, but man, it did not disappoint. Venezuela defeated the United States on Tuesday night to become WBC champions for the very first time.

Pittsburgh Pirates News / Pittsburgh Pirates on SI / March 18

Pirates 2026 Spring Breakout Roster Announced

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have some of the best future talent in baseball and will showcase that in an upcoming game. The Pirates revealed their final roster for the Spring Breakout Game, a Spring Training game where two MLB teams put out some of their best prospects against each other.

Konnor Griffin News / Just Baseball / March 18

Konnor Griffin Has Nothing Left To Prove This Spring

Back on November 18th, 2025, ESPN’s Jeff Passan dropped an earth-shattering article in relation to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In this story, Passan first tied the Pirates to Kyle Schwarber, which obviously became the biggest headline from the article.

MLB News / Yardbarker / March 18

Team USA pretended the WBC mattered, but its actions told different story

Instead of hiring a qualified manager, USA went with Mark DeRosa who consistently exposed himself for being completely out of his element as a leader and decision-maker.

Why the USA failed again to secure the WBC championship

Team USA's big bats come up small in WBC championship loss to Venezuela

Wilyer Abreu loses his helmet celebrating huge home run vs. U.S. in WBC final

The 'Last 200-K pitcher by MLB team' quiz

Joe LaSorsa News / MLB Trade Rumors / March 17

Joe La Sorsa Has Upward Mobility Clause In Pirates Deal

Left-hander Joe La Sorsa has an upward mobility clause at the end of spring training in his minor league deal with the Pirates, reports Ari Alexander of 7 News Boston.

Konnor Griffin News / MLB on ClutchPoints / March 17

Will Konnor Griffin make Opening Day roster? Pirates pitcher hopes so

It has been an exciting spring training for Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Konnor Griffin. Griffin has shown Major League Baseball fans why he is considered the sport’s top prospect.

Pittsburgh Pirates News / Inside The Diamonds / March 16

Pittsburgh Pirates Roster Moves 03/16/2026

The Pittsburgh Pirates have had a successful spring so far with a 15-7 record in Grapefruit League play. Today, they will send Noah Davis to the mound to face the Minnesota Twins and Joe Ryan.

Pittsburgh Pirates News / Last Word On Sports / March 15

Pirates Will Still have Baseball’s #1 Prospect by 2027

The Pittsburgh Pirates have the consensus number one prospect in the entire sport. Shortstop Konnor Griffin ranks as the best prospect in baseball by any major prospect publication: Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, Baseball Prospectus, and FanGraphs, and he is number one anywhere you look.

Pittsburgh Pirates News / Yardbarker / March 15

Paul Skenes' numbers against the Dominican Republic are insane

Team USA is one win away from returning to the World Baseball Classic final. However, they have to face their toughest challenge yet, as the Dominican Republic is a behemoth of an offensive team. But they might have the right man on the mound to meet the challenge.

Team USA advances to WBC semifinal, but has one concerning issue

The 'Last 200-K pitcher by MLB team' quiz

Pittsburgh Pirates News / Just Baseball / March 14

Top Pittsburgh Pirates Spring Training Storylines to Follow

The Pittsburgh Pirates shocked much of the baseball world this offseason. Prior to this winter, the Pirates had never surpassed the $100 million payroll threshold.