Pirates Legend Has High Hopes for 2026 Season

Why Burnett Thinks the Pirates Are Different This Season

The Pirates are 12-8 through the first 20 games of 2026, tying them for the lead in the National League Central Division and the

Pittsburgh took two of three games on the road against division rivals in the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs, plus swept the Baltimore Orioles in the first series at home.

The Pirates haven't made the postseason since Burnett's last season in 2015 and have only had one season with a winning percentage above .500 either, both the second-longest streaks of any major league team.

Burnett sees in this team that, unlike previous years, they can go at it every game and that no loss brings them down for the next day.

"I don't know. It's just like, winning," Burnett said on why he's confident in this year's Pirates' squad. "We're just gonna go win. There's not a lot of talk about, we gotta do this. We gotta do that. You know, it's just wanting to win. It seemed like from a distance before, not recently, but back in the day, if they got beat real bad, the fight was already drained out of them. It just seems like it doesn't matter what happens to this crew.

"I think that's a big difference. They just expect to win every day, and if they don't, it's not going to be the end of the world. You know, we got 162 of these games, another one tomorrow. Hopefully I see more of that."

The Pirates have also made some key additions like second baseman Brandon Lowe, right fielder/first baseman Ryan O'Hearn and Marcell Ozuna, who have bolstered the lineup and made it easier on returners like Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds and Spencer Horwitz to thrive.

Those new pieces are how the Pirates started getting better when Burnett came in a trade from the New York Yankees, relief pitcher Mark Melancon came in a trade from the Boston Red Sox, they signed free agents like starting pitcher Francisco Liriano and catcher Russell Martin that played big roles in that postseason run, 2013-15.

Burnett knows that the Pirates needed some extra help this offseason and after getting it, he sees them all playing a big role in competitng for a spot in the playoffs.

"I feel like so far. Like I said, I'm paying attention on an app most of the time, but you see highlights and you see things," Burnett said. "It just seems like the pieces they've brought in are perfect fits for what they needed, what they didn't have. And that's what happened with us. We were close in '12, and the guys they brought in were the perfect pieces we needed. Seems to be working out."