Three Lingering Questions for Pirates After Trade Deadline

Doval has struggled in 2026, but most of that happened at hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium, and has a sub-2.00 ERA on the road, plus closer experience during his time with the San Francisco Giants (2021-25).

Yates is 39 years old, but also brings high-leverage and closer experience, while Bachar can fit in multiple roles, most likely as middle relief and taking on two to three innings.

Pittsburgh will keep their three left-handed relievers in Mason Montgomery, who's worked as a closer, Gregory Soto, who's done both the closer and set-up man role, and then Evan Sisk when he returns from injury, working earlier in the game.

Right-hander Yohan Ramírez will also have a middle relief role alongside Bachar, as he's had a solid season, including a 0.36 ERA since the start of June.

It's finally looking like the Pirates have a good and maybe even a great bullpen, with pitchers that can take on high-leverage opportunities, long outings and just getting guys out with consistency, becoming reliable, rather than a liability.

The Pirates need a strong bullpen and if it all comes together now, they'll have a great shot of finally playing meaningful baseball come this fall.

Did Pirates Neglect Offensive Needs?

The Pirates didn't make any offensive additions at the trade deadline, focusing their full attention towards the bullpen.

It's understandable why the Pirates chose this route, as their offense has been one of the best in baseball this season and has produced throughout.

The Pirates have struggled scoring runs as of late, as injuries to key players like Endy Rodríguez, Spencer Horwitz, Oneil Cruz, Konnor Griffin and Ryan O'Hearn have kept many of their best bats out of the lineup.

Pittsburgh is going through a slump offensively, which does happen at certain parts of a season, but they need a great offense if they are going to make the postseason.

The Pirates had links with right-handed outfield bats in Taylor Ward of the Baltimore Orioles and Jo Adell of the Angels, plus All-Star catcher Hunter Goodman of the Colorado Rookies, so there was consideration for lineup additions.

Cherington noted that they are expecting their injured hitters to return before the end of the season, as Rodríguez and Horwitz are back, Cruz should return in August and both Griffin and O'Hearn will return in the middle of September.

He also said that they didn't find a deal that made sense, which explains the lack of an addition, but with the Pirates recent struggles offensively, particularly against left-handed starting pitching, it seems like they missed a chance to bolster the roster.

The Pirates could end up figuring things out and having their best lineup come October, but they still have a lot to do in the regular season to achieve that goal.

Should Pirates Have Traded for Starting Pitching?

The Pirates have had a healthy starting rotation, until Mitch Keller went on the 60-day injured list with a right arm teres major muscle injury on Aug. 2.

Keller's season is essentially over, barring any major comeback or long postseason run from the Pirates, meaning that they need a fifth starter for the rotation.

It's most likely that Carmen Mlodzinski steps in that role, as he spent the first two months of 2026 as a starting pitcher, before Jared Jones returned from a long-term injury and took his place.

Mlodzinski went back to the bullpen, but did longer outings of three to four innings, keeping him ready to take on a heavy innings workload going forward.

The Pirates may have benefitted from adding a true starting pitcher, but Cherington noted that the cost for a starter was too high and adding to the bullpen made more sense for improving their pitching staff.

Mlodzinski was much better in his second stint as a starting pitcher in 2026, but still posted a 4.30 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP.

The Pirates could have Mlodzinski go four to five innings and pair him with Bachar, or even experiment with different relief pitchers to get the most out of Mlodzinski and still have a solid showing from the bullpen.

Pittsburgh must get better outings from everyone in their rotation, Paul Skenes, Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler and Jones, plus they'll need Mlodzinski to step it up and prove he really is a starting pitcher moving forward.