Improved Pirates still have major flaws that will hold them back

The 2026 Pittsburgh Pirates are an objectively better team than they have been in recent seasons, and there are plenty of reasons for optimism surrounding them.

They have arguably the best pitcher in baseball in Paul Skenes. Shortstop Konnor Griffin has arrived and is showing the potential and talent that made him the No. 1 prospect in baseball coming into this season, and could make him a superstar. They actually spent some money this offseason to add veteran hitters like Brandon Lowe and Ryan O'Hearn. 

But as they showed on Sunday in a 7-6 extra innings loss to the San Francisco Giants, they still have some significant flaws that are going to limit what their ceiling can be if they do not find ways to remedy them. Soon.

Pirates are better, but still have major flaws

The two biggest flaws plaguing them right now are the lack of depth in their bullpen, and the fact they are at times a fundamental mess in the field defensively.

They have the potential front-line starters in Skenes, Braxton Ashcraft and Mitch Keller to keep them in games. They added bats. They have a formidable starting lineup. But there are almost no average to above average defensive players on the field.

Both issues played a key role on Sunday.

While the Pirates bats missed some big opportunities throughout the game to add on runs, they still gave their bullpen a pair of two-run leads late in the game, including in the 10th inning.

The bullpen blew both of them, and for the day allowed five runs in seven innings. They entered Sunday 17th in the league in bullpen ERA, and it only got worse after that showing. That is not going to cut it, and it has cost them at least a handful of games already this season. The only reliever they can consistently depend on is free agent addition Gregory Soto. But there is only so much one arm can do. 

They also had issues defensively on Sunday when O'Hearn made back-to-back mistakes in the bottom of the 12th inning to help push across the Giants' winning run.

After dropping a fly ball down the line that would have been the second out of the inning, he prematurely gave up on Jesus Rodriguez' single with one out and missed a chance to throw out the game-winning run at home.