Pirates’ biggest mistake after 2026 MLB trade deadline

Pittsburgh brought in several pitchers ahead of this year’s deadline, but no hitters. That is in despite of the fact that the team was looking for a solid-hitting outfielder before the deadline, according to reports.

Pittsburgh has been effective on offense this year, but so many of their sluggers are hurt right now. Ryan O’Hearn is likely out for the rest of the regular season, and star rookie Konnor Griffin is also out. Those are two of the most effective hitters in this lineup.

Pittsburgh had a chance to strengthen the lineup ahead of the deadline, but didn’t. The team couldn’t come to a deal for a single slugger. That is going to put added pressure on Brandon Lowe, and the rest of these batters.

At least one other national news outlet thinks this is a mistake. The Athletic even went on to say the Pirates were “snoozers” at the deadline.

“But is this lineup capable of overcoming a wild-card deficit and winning in October? The Pirates will consider Oneil Cruz, Konnor Griffin and Ryan O’Hearn great second-half (re)additions to the lineup. But swinging a trade for one more big bat would have done wonders,” The Athletic reported.

Pittsburgh was looking at former Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell, before the deadline. Adell ended up being traded to the Cleveland Guardians. This season, Adell is hitting at a .239 batting average with 62 RBIs.

While Adell has had his fair share of struggles at the plate, he is still a pretty solid hitter. He has 16 home runs on the season and a .682 OPS. His defense has also been lauded.

Adell is just one example of a hitter who was out there for the taking. Why didn’t Pittsburgh do more to add to the offense? Well, for one, the bullpen has been really bad. Adding to the bullpen is certainly understandable, as Pirates general manager Ben Cherington has little room for error as a GM. He has been in the Steel City since the fall of 2019, and has yet to take the team to the playoffs.

“We’ve worked hard to try to add to the team because we believe in the team. We believe this team can win games and make a push into October,” Cherington said about the team’s trade deadline performance, per Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “The bullpen was an area we intended to strengthen. We feel good about the individual pitchers coming onto the team. We feel like the prices made sense. We’re going to look forward to getting to know all of these guys and seeing them come together in the clubhouse now.”

Cherington had better be right. He has yet to even have a winning season, in his many years as the team’s general manager. Time will tell at the end of this regular season, if these moves were enough to get the Bucs a Wild Card spot in the National League.

The Pirates are in action on Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers. Pittsburgh is currently third in the National League Central.