4 more moves the Pirates need to make after Camilo Doval trade begins bullpen overhaul

So much for selling. Despite a fourth straight loss on Friday night — and a 4-9 record in their last 13 games that's dropped them back under .500 for the first time since the beginning of July — the Pittsburgh Pirates added Major League talent in their first deal of trade deadline season, landing hard-throwing righty reliever Camilo Doval from the New York Yankees in exchange for a pair of prospects.

Ben Cherington has been adamant that this team thinks of itself as a buyer ahead of Monday's deadline, and this move would seem to support that notion even though the team enters plays on Saturday 2.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the final NL Wild Card spot. Relief pitching is by far Pittsburgh's most glaring weakness, and while Doval's 4.54 ERA points to his sometimes-maddening inconsistency (there's a reason the Yankees were willing to part with him), he also possesses high-octane stuff and an elite ground-ball rate that has him looking dominant for multiple outings at a time.

He can't be it, though. This bullpen needs much, much more than just one more mercurial arm, and losing Ryan O'Hearn to potentially serious quad injury on Friday night makes the need for offensive reinforcements all the more urgent. If Cherington wants to back up his big talk and finally get the Pirates back to the playoffs for the first time in a decade, he needs to keep wheeling and dealing.

Add multiple other relievers

It's impossible to overstate just how badly this bullpen has kneecapped Pittsburgh so far in 2026. To get this unit passable for the stretch run, they need to add not just one but two more reliable arms in addition to Doval — and the market is already moving, with potential target AJ Minter being sent to Minnesota earlier this week.

So, who should the Pirates pursue? Mets righty Luke Weaver would make a ton of sense, as he's in the midst of an excellent campaign in Queens and comes with another year of contractual control in 2027. He's good against lefties and righties, and he has the ability to pitch multiple innings when called upon.

Pittsburgh should also give a long look at the Angels' Ryan Zeferjahn, whose 3.78 ERA this year is more a product of bad luck (and his team's miserable defense) than anything. Zeferjahn has posted elite whiff and K rates thanks to a devastating fastball/sweeper combo, and while command is something of a concern, the sky is the limit for him if he manages to lock in. Add Weaver and Zeferjahn to Doval, Mason Montgomery, Yohan Ramirez and Gregory Soto, and suddenly you can feel at least OK about the late-game situation.

Acquire Isaac Paredes from the Astros

Pittsburgh needs to add another righty bat to balance out what is a pretty lefty-heavy lineup, and with O'Hearn now joining Konnor Griffin on the IL — and perhaps staying there for most, if not all, of the rest of the regular season — it would help if said bat came with infield flexibility that allowed Don Kelly to mix and match.

Enter Paredes, who can play pretty much anywhere on the diamond save for shortstop. Granted, PNC Park isn't the greatest fit for a player whose 20-homer pop mostly comes from pulling a ton of fly balls. But he gets on base a ton, and he would raise this lineup's floor accordingly. Plus, the Pirates have some starting pitching to spare that could make this deal pretty easy to get done given Houston's glaring need in the rotation.

Acquire Randy Arozarena from the Mariners

Of course, outfield was a need even before O'Hearn went down, and it's particularly acute now; with Oneil Cruz not back until late August at the earliest, the only proven commodity out there right now is Bryan Reynolds. Luckily, though, there are options.

Pittsburgh could target a platoon-specific bat like Jo Adell, Tyrone Taylor or Lane Thomas. But injuries have mounted to the point where I think they need something a bit more impactful. And as the fates would have it, reports started surfacing on Saturday that the Seattle Mariners were willing to at least listen on Arozarena, who will be a free agent at the end of the year.

It's unclear just how serious Seattle is here, given that they no doubt still harbor hopes of mounting a charge up the wide-open AL West standings. They've been pretty disappointing thus far this season, though, and the fact that they're open to at least considering an Arozarena deal feels telling. He produces against both righties and lefties and is exactly the sort of sturdy veteran hitter the Pirates could use to keep themselves afloat until Cruz and Griffin return.

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