Pirates GM Aiming for Better Season in 2026

The Pittsburgh Pirates have had a terrible season in 2025 and they're already looking ahead to 2026.

The Pirates have a record of 39-61 overall after 100 games into the campaign and have lost 11 of their past 12 games. They are 20.5 games back from the Chicago Cubs in first place of the National League Central Division, 15.5 games back from a Wild Card spot and hold the third worst record in the MLB.

Pittsburgh also fired manager Derek Shelton after a 12-26 start on May 8, ending his sixth season in charge, and replacing him with Don Kelly, who has a 27-35 record in his tenure

The Pirates have served as one of the worst hitting teams in the MLB, with the worst slugging percentage (.339) and OPS (.639), third worst batting average (.229), sixth worst on-base percentage (.300),

Pittsburgh ranks bottom of the MLB in runs (339), doubles (133), home runs (66) and RBIs (322), have the fourth least hits (758) and the sixth most strikeouts at 869 strikeouts.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington has already had a busy month of July, completing the 2025 MLB Draft, July 20-21, and now gearing up for the MLB Trade Deadline at July 31.

He has worked as the Pirates general manager since the end of 2019 and heads into his sixth MLB trade deadline, as he'll work as a seller with teams looking at their many assets.

He spoke on his radio show with Greg Browne on 93.7 The Fan about his disappointment with the season and that they will take the MLB Trade Deadline as a great opportunity for him and his team, as they try and improve the franchise heading into next season.

“Obviously we’re in a situation we don’t want to be in,” Cherington said on the 2025 season. “We need to find ways over the next several days until July 31 to put ourselves in a better situation going forward, to increase the chances of the Pirates being a winning team in 2026 and beyond. That’s our only focus.”

The Pirates have a 333-475 (.412) record since Cherington took over, with only the Washington Nationals, 327-480 (.405) and the Colorado Rockies, 312-494 (.367) having worse records than them.

Pittsburgh has only had four winning seasons since 1992, with three coming from 2013-15, all postseason appearances, plus 2018.