Why Pirates management should be furious with owner Bob Nutting

Earlier this summer, Pittsburgh Pirates owner Bob Nutting made a rare appearance in front of the media, boldly proclaiming the team must be prepared to trade for offense before the trade deadline on July 30 at 6 p.m. ET. 

Given the Pirates' notorious lack of spending or aggressiveness during Nutting's ownership, that claim should have been met with skepticism until something is done to change the team's perception. 

As it turns out, several members of the team's baseball operations department were furious with Nutting's public claim. Not only because it put more pressure on general manager Ben Cherington to make a move, but also because Nutting's public comments and his actual plan seem to be two very different things. 

According to a report from Pittsburgh Baseball Now's John Perrotto, a member of the front office —- speaking on the condition of anonymity — said Nutting's public comments were "misleading at best" and that the owner has told them privately the team will not have additional money to spend before the trade deadline. 

The Pirates are on the fringes of wild-card contention thanks, in part, to an excellent young pitching staff led by All-Star Paul Skenes, fellow rookie Jared Jones and veteran Mitch Keller. Their rotation has been one of the best in baseball, especially since the arrival of Skenes, and has consistently kept them in games.

What has held the Pirates back is a lack of offense (22nd in runs entering play Tuesday) that has mostly wasted the success of their rotation. The need for additional bats is obvious. 

While there should always be healthy skepticism regarding anonymous quotes, Pirates ownership is not really in a situation where it should get the benefit of the doubt. 

This is the same ownership group that, in 2016, cut payroll after a 98-win season and a third consecutive playoff appearance.

It is the same ownership that over the past couple of years has consistently produced one of the smallest payrolls in baseball, including for the 2024 season (29th of 30 teams with an $86M payroll). That ranks ahead of only the Oakland A's, a franchise in disarray that is going through a relocation. 

If Perrotto's report is correct, the Pirates might be in a situation where they can only add bats this season if they cut salary elsewhere on the roster (such as relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman or third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes). That only complicates matters for the front office. 

Cherington has not done a good job drafting or using the money he does have. But it is also true that he has zero margin for error with the salary constraints he is working with. 

For the past two decades, the Pirates have consistently changed managers and general managers while producing the same poor results. The one constant is the owner.

Until that changes, Pittsburgh's ceiling is going to remain what it is. Pirates fans must hope the team catches lightning in a bottle or else mediocrity will reign for many years to come.