Brewers Success Should Be Cautionary Tale For Pirates This Offseason

The Milwaukee Brewers took down the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, sweeping the two-time defending champions in the process.

For the first time since 1982, the Brewers will be playing in the World Series, taking down the highest-payroll team. Milwaukee has consistently seen success during the regular season over the past few years, but this team finally broke through.

The success of the Brewers has been good for the sport of baseball, but for the Pittsburgh Pirates, it's a cautionary tale. Pittsburgh will now have to deal with the Brewers moving forward, with the team gaining more and more playoff experience.

Additionally, the way that Milwaukee has won this season will show teams all over the league, including the Pirates, that they don't have to spend heavily to win. There is already likely to be a lockout this coming offseason over salary cap problems, and the Pirates have been at the bottom of the league in payroll for years.

Pittsburgh finished the 2026 season as the No. 23 team in payroll, while the Brewers came in at No. 19. On the American League side of things, the two teams in the ALCS are both toward the bottom as well.

The Tampa Bay Rays are ranked No. 28 in baseball, while the Cleveland Guardians are dead-last in the league. If anything, this should show teams across baseball that money doesn't buy wins.

But for the Pirates, it could be detrimental, especially with an ownership group that has already shown an unwillingness to spend. Pittsburgh finished this past season with a record of 82-80, showing real competitive spirit throughout the year.

While the Pirates don't need to spend like a team such as the Dodgers or New York Mets to find success, Pittsburgh should be looking to add this offseason. This roster has a solid core of young talent on it, but they are missing some key pieces.

If the Pirates look at what the Brewers have done and believe that they can replicate this, it will be a major mistake. Pittsburgh must go against the grain that they have set over the last few years and spend this offseason.

If the Pirates want to break the long playoff drought, this offseason could be the time to make it happen. Pittsburgh's front office owes it to the players to add more talent to this roster, rather than just allowing the core to develop more.

The fans in Pittsburgh also deserve to have a winning team, rather than one that just gets by every season. The clock is ticking, and the Pirates have some major decisions to make this offseason.