Pittsburgh Pirates ‘Open-Minded’ About Offseason Upgrades

The Pittsburgh Pirates improved throughout the 2026 season but still failed to reach their goal of returning to the postseason for the first time in over a decade.

The easy conclusion is that the Pirates need to keep improving the big-league roster if they want to be a postseason contender next year. The harder question is: what part of the roster needs the most attention?

The lineup was a strength at times last season, but still had holes toward the bottom. The starting rotation has been solid for years, but it showed cracks in some of its top arms. The bullpen has some building blocks, such as Mason Montgomery, but it's still very thin toward the back end.

Where should Pittsburgh’s focus be?

Well, general manager Ben Cherington shared during MLB’s annual GM meetings this week that the front office is “open-minded” about how and where the most attention should be focused on upgrading this winter.

The bottom line is that it sounds like the executive is still planning on making moves to help the team continue its ascent, and not plateau, or even worse, take a step back next year.

Cherington discussed the possibility of pursuing outfield, infield, or pitching upgrades. Based on his comments, it appears that any and all options are on the table.

“We’re really just hunting ways to upgrade the roster in totality,” said Cherington (via Jason Mackey, MLB.com).

From one perspective, pursuing so many routes to improve the roster may seem negative. However, Pittsburgh’s general manager said that being so open actually gives them more opportunities.

What the Pirates’ front office can’t be confused with making offseason moves, though, is simply retaining its own players who are on the open market. Of course, that refers to All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe and, in some cases, veteran reliever Gregory Soto.

The Lowe sweepstakes are alive and well early in free agency, and the Pirates have a great deal of interest in bringing back the All-Star. However, they aren’t the only ones, with several other contenders already emerging for the 32-year-old.

The Pirates were the surprise team last offseason, given how many transactions they made before Opening Day. Some of those were home runs, such as the Lowe trade; others didn’t work out, like the Marcell Ozuna signing.

Even though the offseason is still young, Cherington is positioning his organization to be one of the most active teams in baseball once again this winter.