Pirates Recent Loss Highlights Another Trade Deadline Need

With the trade deadline just days away, the Pittsburgh Pirates' main focus has been on adding more bullpen arms. 

The reliever core needs a boost, there's no doubt about that, but Pittsburgh's series loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks this week exposed another flaw in the roster that must be addressed for the Pirates to get back to the postseason.

Pittsburgh needs more hitters who can do damage against left-handed pitching.

D-Backs starter Eduardo Rodriguez, who is a left-handed pitcher, carved up Pittsburgh's lineup on Wednesday, throwing eight shutout innings and allowing just five hits. 

This isn't the first time that Pittsburgh has had struggles against southpaws in 2026.

In fact, this year, the Pirates have a .700 OPS against left-handed pitchers. That number actually ranks right in the middle of the pack compared to the rest of MLB. 

However, there is a little more to this single number, because some of Pittsburgh's best hitters against left-handed pitching aren't currently in the lineup. 

Before Konnor Griffin's injury, he had a .298/.339/.439 slash line with five extra-base hits against southpaws.

Even though Oneil Cruz is a left-handed hitter, he doesn't let a single pitcher overwhelm him at the plate. The 27-year-old had a .867 OPS against left-handers this season before he landed on the IL.

With both of these hitters out of the lineup, the Pirates own a 92 wRC+ against southpaws since the beginning of June.

Hopefully, Cruz comes back fully healthy sooner rather than later and doesn't take long to get back up to speed, but that would be putting a lot of pressure on one player to improve a team-wide issue.

However, with Griffin possibly being out until the middle of September, Pittsburgh must explore the idea of adding a right-handed hitter who thrives against left-handers.

Ideally, Marcell Ozuna could've represented that right-handed presence in the lineup, but his season in Pittsburgh is going far from planned. 

Jo Adell would be the perfect platoon option. He has an OPS just under .700 on the season, but that jumps to .940 when a left-hander is on the mound.

Depending on Spencer Horwitz's timeline, trading for Ty France would be a low-risk, high-reward move for the Pirates, too.

In terms of priorities, the Pirates must address the bullpen first, but adding another right-handed bat is something the front office, at the very least, must explore.