The Pittsburgh Pirates continue to hang around the NL Wild Card conversation, but despite their plus-14 run differential (sixth best in the National League), the Buccos are three games below .500 and 5.5 games out of the sixth seed. It feels increasingly unlikely, especially since their supposed superpower — that dominant, youthful pitching staff — has curdled in confounding and unexpected ways.
Paul Skenes' sudden regression will be the storyline that defines the Pirates' season. Pittsburgh finally put together a competent lineup, only for Skenes and his fellow fireballers to lose their special sauce on the mound. There's still time, and still a path forward, for these Pirates, but the 2026 season is shaping up to be another letdown. If they continue on their current trajectory, these folks might not finish out the season on Pittsburgh's payroll.
C Henry Davis
The No. 1 overall pick in 2021, Henry Davis was once viewed as the future of Pirates baseball. Unfortunately, we're four years into his career and the 26-year-old still has not improved upon the .653 OPS he posted as a rookie. Davis is hitting .170 this season, with a .567 OPS and 56 wRC+. He's solid behind home plate and shares a strong rapport with Pittsburgh's aces, but the bat — even by the low standards of his position — is increasingly difficult to stomach.
Davis is under club control through 2029, but there's reason to believe Pittsburgh could bite the bullet and DFA him now. Between Rafael Flores Jr. and Endy RodrÃguez, once the latter returns from the 10-day IL, there are two far more productive options on the roster. There's an argument to be made that both Flores and RodrÃguez project better as first basemen long term, but the Pirates should be willing to let them workshop their skills behind home plate. Flores, 24, homered twice in Pittsburgh's win over Detroit on Tuesday, bumping his OPS up to 1.140 in 19 games. RodrÃguez, 26, has 45 MLB appearances under his belt with an .840 OPS.
If either can develop into a remotely dependable everyday catcher, the other can eventually claim first base (or DH) reps on a more permanent basis. Both are everyday bats, while Davis is an active weak point in the lineup.
UTL Nick Yorke
Pittsburgh acquired Nick Yorke, a former first-round pick, from the Red Sox in the ill-fated Quinn Priester trade. Once extremely hyped as a prospect, Yorke has spent three years underperforming at every turn. He hasn't done much in the minors, much less in the majors, relegated to a essentially a utility role off the bench.
There's latent value in a 24-year-old who can credibly slide between third base, second base and the outfield — plus Yorke's 49.3 percent hard-hit rate is solid, indicating some poor batted-ball luck behind his .302 slugging and .594 OPS. Another team will probably extend Yorke's window of opportunity, but with Konnor Griffin approaching his return and other talented infield prospects coming up through the pipeline, his days are numbered in Pittsburgh.
Temarr Johnson and Duce Gourson are probably worth a look down the stretch, especially once rosters expand in September, while top-100 prospect Murf Gray could debut on Opening Day 2027.
OF Billy Cook
Billy Cook has carved out a niche in the Pirates organization with his elite speed. He's useful as a pinch-runner and he can cover tons of ground in the outfield. At a certain point, though, you need to hit to stick in the majors. Cook's 38.8 percent strikeout rate (albeit in a small sample) this season, batting .188 with a .454 OPS, makes it difficult to trust him in anything except a situational role. It's hard to commit a roster spot to a pinch-runner and late-game defensive sub as a team serious about winning.
Cook is effectively a slap-hitter who can't make consistent contact. It took 86 games and 101 plate appearances across three seasons for him to draw his first MLB walk. That style of swing-happy, turn-and-burn baseball does not really work with a near-40 percent K rate and fluctuating contact skills. Cook has done little to earn such a consistent presence on the end of the bench, especially given the groundswell of talent coming through the Pirates' pipeline.
RHP Camilo Doval
Camilo Doval has an extra year of club control, but the hard-throwing right-hander — dumped to Pittsburgh at the deadline by a Yankees team that needed more bullpen help, not less — has struggled to the tune of a 4.07 ERA and -0.2 fWAR, worst among Pirates relievers. He has a 2.00 ERA in nine appearanes since Pittsburgh acquired him, so he's not actively struggling, but it feels like Doval is the easy DFA candidate should the Pirates angle for a late-season bullpen shake-up.
Doval's impressive velocity and sky-high groundball rate are positives, and the metrics point to better days ahead (3.67 xERA). Then again, he has been the poster child of volatility for years now. He gives up extremely loud contact (his 47.9 percent hard-hit rate sits in MLB's second percentile) and the command issues refuse to subside.
Pittsburgh clearly saw something in Doval and gave up something to get him at the deadline, so he's probably the most unlikely cut candidate on this list. Pittsburgh has a few minor-league arms worth a gander, however, and the waiver wire is starting to pile up with interesting relievers. So Pittsburgh could still cut the experiment short if a better option presents itself.
GM Ben Cherington
Ben Cherington has run the Pirates front office since 2019, with little to show for it. He oversaw years of mismanaged prospect development and offseason stasis, hamstrung by an ownership group that is historically unwilling to spend beyond the bare minimum. Those trends have started to shift in recent years. Pittsburgh went out an traded for Brandon Lowe and signed Ryan O'Hearn, while Konnor Griffin and fast-bloomer Seth Hernandez are feathers in their minor league cap. Even so, despite all this apparent progress, Skenes looks burned out and Pittsburgh is once again trending toward an October without Pirates baseball.
Cherington can't shoulder all of the blame for what ails Pittsburgh. He tried his best at the deadline, adding three leverage relievers in Doval, Luke Weaver and Kirby Yates. The Lowe trade, which also brought Mason Montgomery (now their closer) and Jake Mangum to Pittsburgh, was a stroke of genius. He is not inept. But when an organization stews in disappointment for as long as these Pirates — when an anxious fanbase unrelentingly calls for change — the shoe typically drops on the GM. They are the nexus of blame for everything wrong in the clubhouse.
So, don't be shocked if the Pirates, only a year removed from firing their manager, also fire their GM. Cherington has a long track record outside of Pittsburgh and will get another job, but there's a credible argument for a new perspective in the Pirates front office. Fans would certainly celebrate such foundational change, before Pittsburgh sinks too deep into another depression.
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