Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington has been in baseball long enough that the heat is on him.

Cherington has been on the job for six years and will return for a seventh in 2026, despite the Pirates having a 71-91 record this year. The Pirates have gone 365-505 under Cherington's watch and finished either last or next to last in the National League Central standings each season.

The .420 winning percentage would be enough to get most GMs fired. Yet Cherington has two years remaining on his contract, which helped him get a stay of execution.

Owner Bob Nutting doesn't help Cherington much by annually giving low budgets. Multiple sources indicate that the payroll will not increase next season, primarily due to a decline in attendance.

The Pirates opened this season with an $87-million payroll, which ranked 26th in the major leagues, ahead of only the Chicago White Sox ($80 million), the Tampa Bay Rays ($79 million), the Athletics ($74 million), and the Miami Marlins ($64 million).

Nutting rarely speaks publicly. However, Nutting said he expects to put a contender on the field next year in a club-issued statement when the Pirates announced manager Don Kelly's contract extension earlier in the week.

"This season, we fell well short as an organization both on and off the field," Nutting said. "It has been unacceptable. Our focus must shift to execution, to delivering wins. Results are the only thing that matters. We owe it to our fans, our city, and the legacy of this team to get it right. Ben and everyone in the organization fully understand what is expected, and that the work ahead demands urgency."

Oftentimes, the person in the Pirates' organization with the least urgency is Nutting. It has taken six years to put any heat on Cherington to win.

"In terms of being able to play in October, I do believe we are close, and we've got really important work to do," Cherington said. "It's not just going to happen by being passive and hoping for it to happen."