Jake Mangum has never been to Pittsburgh. Yet, he already sounds like a Pittsburgher.
The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired the switch-hitter outfielder from the Tampa Bay Rays along with second baseman Brandon Lowe and left-handed reliever Mason Montgomery in a three-team trade on Dec. 19 in which the Pirates sent right-hander Mike Burrows to the Houston Astros. However, thanks to social media, Mangum is already acquainted with his new baseball home.
Mangum posted on X on the day of the trade that he was excited about joining the Pirates a year after making his major-league debut. The 29-year-old got flooded with responses.
“My initial reaction was like, 'man, these fans really responded to this and wanted to make sure that I was welcomed, and kind of gave me tips around some things,’” Mangum said. “I can't say y'all anymore, I have to say yinz. So, there's a (dialect) I need to work on. There's a sandwich with French fries on it, and they all want a winner. They all want a team that makes the city proud.”
Pirates fans are starving for good baseball regardless of sandwich toppers. The franchise hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2015, won a division title since 1992, or won a postseason series since beating the Baltimore Orioles in the 1979 World Series. And the Pirates have had just four winning seasons in the last 33 years.
Mangum doesn’t pretend to understand the depth of the fans’ frustrations. However, he is hopeful of playing a part in turning the Pirates into winners. Mangum has a chance to be the Pirates’ primary left fielder this upcoming season after hitting .296/.330/.368 with three home runs and 27 stolen bases in 118 games last year.
“I can't promise I'm going to go in and hit .350 with a .900 OPS, but what I can promise is I'm going to do everything I possibly can to be the best version of myself and help the team win baseball games,” Mangum said. “From what I can see, the fans are really, really wanting that, and a big thank you to the Pirates for believing in me to help that cause.”
Though the Pirates finished in last place in the National League Central with a 71-91 record last season. Mangum believes that they can climb in the standings in 2026.
“There's some really cool things about the Pittsburgh Pirates' roster, and we're super thankful to be a part of it,” Mangum said. I'm excited to help any way I can. It's looking like there's a lot of different ways we can look at this lineup and win baseball games, and I'm excited to be a piece of that.
“But as far as what type of profiles we have, look, there's some really good baseball players in Pittsburgh. And me and (Lowe) were talking about it on a phone call. This could be a really, really cool year, and we're going to do everything in our power to help that.”