Pirates Presenting Case for 2027 Postseason Participation

I don’t bet. But if I did, odds are the Pittsburgh Pirates are a postseason club in 2027.

Forget the fear-mongering circulating that there might not be an MLB season in 2027. A new collective bargaining agreement will be struck at some point after December 1. Could spring training be disrupted? Yes. Maybe even Opening Day of the regular season gets pushed back days, weeks, or longer? Yep. But rest assured, there will be baseball at PNC Park and across the National and American Leagues.

Now how do things look for the Pirates next season?

I see a competitive club that somewhat reminds me of the 1986 New York Mets. The Mets won the World Series that year. In fact, that was the last National League championship in Gotham. New York’s starting rotation was Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, Bob Ojeda, and Rick Aguilera. The Mets won 108 games that season. Pretty darn good season, wouldn’t you say?

I’m not predicting next year’s Pirates roster will rack up triple-digit victories. What I see is a dynamic starting pitching rotation of Paul Skenes, Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler, and Jared Jones that could match up against any other MLB staff. Injuries aside, the “kids” have arrived, and are every good as predicted when they were drafted – just like the ‘86 Mets.

I see other strengths all around the diamond. I’m sold on Spencer Horwitz at first base. Brabdon Lowe MUST be re-signed the minute the World Series is over. His 34 home runs and 94 RBIs prior to Thursday’s afternoon game with the St. Louis Cardinals can’t be excluded from manager Don Kelly’s lineup. You don’t subtract from this level of production and expect baseball to be business as usual.

Moving over to shortstop, Konnor Griffin is the rock of the organization for the coming decade. He'll eventually morph into the second coming of Mike Trout.

Now, third base is where things begin to get interesting. Do the Pirates move Nick Gonzales into that role full time? His bat is too good to cool on the bench as a part-timer. How much playing time in the hot corner could Jared Triolo get? His glove is too reliable to keep out of the lineup for too long.

Catching will be interesting, too, once camp in Bradenton opens. Rafael Flores Jr. has earned a long look for the starting job behind the plate. His 10 homers and 22 RBIs in 140 at-bats, plus a .271 average, will not be forgotten by either Kelly or general manager Ben Cherington. The other primary backstop the Pirates have is Henry Davis. A hard worker and talented defensive player, however, hitting .169 this season is tough to ignore.

In next season’s outfield will be Bryan Reynolds, Oneil Cruz, Ryan O’Hearn, plus Jake Mangum and Esmeryln Valdez.

Since the All-Star Game break, the Pirates’ bullpen has greatly improved. Yohan Ramirez, Wilber Dotel, Luke Weaver, Carmen Mlodzinski, and Antwone Kelly fill out a reliable crew. But Mason Montgomery's emergence as a closer is refreshing. He is lights-out.

Now, injuries will happen. Outside forces will always make clubs zig instead of zag. The current Pirates bunch is coming of age together, and 2027 has all the ingredients of a postseason participant.

At 80-78 leading into Thursday’s game, just two more wins in their last four games, and Pittsburgh will have their first winning season since 2018. Small steps lead to major improvements. For the Pirates, 2026 is a season to cheer about.