The Pittsburgh Pirates will have some new faces in their lineup for the 2026 season after their trade for infielder Brandon Lowe. Now that Pittsburgh has an actual power threat on its roster, what will the rest of the Opening Day lineup look like next March?

Here is one possible lineup Don Kelly could go with for the first game of the year. 

Let’s take a look at a few takeaways from this lineup prediction.

The key addition in Pittsburgh’s recent three-team trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros was Brandon Lowe, who will certainly slot into one of the top three spots in the Pirates' lineup, but the addition of Jake Mangum to the roster is another huge boost.

Mangum has a real chance to lead off for the Pirates heading into the 2026 season and become a key piece for the team. He logged a .698 OPS with incredible plate discipline last year, and could be a great bat at the top of the lineup.

With one trade, the Pirates have now added two bats right at the top of their lineup. 

There have been some trade rumors and speculation about Oneil Cruz’s future with the Pirates this offseason. That said, it makes more sense for him to be on the Pirates’ Opening Day roster than to play for a different organization. 

Cruz will be entering a pivotal season to see if he can finally become the All-Star talent he had the potential to be as a prospect. With Pittsburgh now having another proven big-league bat in the lineup in Lowe, Cruz should, in theory, see more pitches to hit, making giving up on him now not make much sense. 

The Pirates reportedly want to keep adding bats after trading for Lowe. That said, it’s hard to see what other free agents or trade candidates make sense for Pittsburgh to add. 

Each of the Pirates’ reported targets, such as Jorge Polanco, has already signed. It would be great if Pittsburgh added another impact bat, but at this point in the offseason, it’s hard to envision who that’d be.