3 Pirates who are playing their way out of the team's 2026 plans

It’s no secret that there haven’t been a ton of bright spots for the Pittsburgh Pirates this year. While Paul Skenes is in the midst of another dominant season that will likely end with him winning the National League Cy Young, it’s also been a year highlighted by veterans not meeting their potential and young players taking a step back. 

And while there will be plenty of holes the front office will need to fill in the offseason because of that regression, here are three Pirates whose struggles this year are becoming too much to ignore. 

These three Pirates are giving the organization second thoughts about their long-term roles

Henry Davis 

While this is the first year that Davis has been a positive player by bWAR, he still hasn’t done enough to live up to being the No. 1 pick in the 2021 MLB Draft. 

Davis entered play on Tuesday slashing 157/.230/.265 in 81 games. His 38 OPS+ (which normalizes a player's on-base plus slugging percentage across the entire league) is the worst mark in baseball among hitters who have played in at least 80 games. 

Yes, Davis has turned into an above-average catcher behind the plate. But that doesn’t mean that the Pirates should keep running him out there when he’s clearly not a major league hitter. Davis still won’t be eligible for arbitration for another year, but he’s proven the kind of hitter he is. 

Joey Bart’s clearly the better option behind the plate (even if his numbers aren’t as good as last year) and prospect Rafael Flores is knocking on the door.

Oneil Cruz

Every time Cruz steps on a baseball diamond, he has a chance to wow fans by doing something we’ve never seen before. And even if he’s had some of those jaw-dropped moments this year, he’s had plenty more frustrating moments that have made it seem like his time with the Pirates could be coming to an end. 

He’s slashing .204/.305/.382 this year in 126 games and is in the second percentile in whiff rate and the fourth percentile in strikeouts. Sure, he may lead the National League with 38 steals, but he’s also been worth -13 Defensive Runs Saved in center field as well. 

For every positive he brings to the table, there’s a glaring negative, which is why it could be time for the Pirates to move him in the offseason, even if it means running the risk of him figuring it out somewhere else. 

And if all that isn’t enough, he’s also due for a big raise in arbitration this offseason. This current Pirates regime may be able to overlook Cruz’s lack of success on the field, but it’s hard to believe that the notoriously frugal regime will be okay with his rising paycheck. He's one of the game's most tantalizing talents, but there's a reason his name was floated at the trade deadline and connected to the Yankees. It would feel shocking at first to see Cruz hit the open market, but there's certainly a chance he becomes one of the winter's more jaw-dropping trade options.

Jack Suwinski

Although you could argue that Suwinski played his way off the team’s roster last year when he hit .182 in 88 games, his performance this year has just added on to that. 

Suwinski has hit just .129 in 49 games this year and recently missed a month due to a right groin strain. While he flashed his potential in 2023 when he slugged 25 home runs and recorded 75 walks, he’s hit just .164 in 137 games since, which should bring about the end of his Pirates tenure. 

Suwinski is among baseball’s best at commanding the strike zone and laying off pitches out of the zone, but he’s still striking out in almost 32% of his at-bats this year and isn’t barreling the ball up in the same way that he did during his breakout 2023 season. 

He’s also due for a raise through arbitration for the first time in his career, and it’s hard to believe the Pirates would want to be the ones paying that raise.