Pirates Get Brutal Postseason Odds Projection After August Struggles

The Pittsburgh Pirates began the season on a strong note and were even within striking distance of the MLB postseason at the start of August.

They swung multiple trades to upgrade their bullpen by the MLB trade deadline, and Oneil Cruz returned from injury. However, it's all been for naught, as the Pirates have dropped even further in the standings this August.

ESPN's Alden Gonzalez highlighted the Pirates as one of the biggest losers of August in MLB, and it's thanks to the team dropping far enough down the standings that he believes their postseason hopes are all but over.

"They dropped eight of their first 11 games in August, falling to six games out -- a deficit they've maintained despite winning each of their last two games," Gonzalez writes. "The Pirates' hopes of playing in the postseason for the first time in 11 years have all but vanished."

This is some brutal analysis from Gonzalez, but looking at the postseason standings in the National League, their odds for the NL Central are essentially zero, and their Wild Card odds aren't great either.

Sitting 6.0 games back of the third Wild Card spot, the Pirates do have time to go on a miracle run in September to make up this ground. It's not impossible.

However, it's incredibly unlikely, especially considering the St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins, and San Diego Padres are all ahead of the Pirates in pursuit of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the third and final Wild Card spot.

The 67-71 Pirates would be much closer to a postseason spot if they were in the weak American League, but with a strong NL Wild Card field, Pittsburgh has an uphill battle to make the postseason.

It's a shame, especially since Paul Skenes struggled for the most part this season, and if he and some of the other pitchers were playing better, this team could've made the postseason.

While it's not over yet, as they have a month of games to go, it's not looking good. Pittsburgh is more likely to reach a 12th straight year without the postseason, despite this team's strong offense.