3 ways Pirates can spend rumored $30-40 million payroll boost before 2026

MLB insider Mark Feinsand stunned the baseball world this week when he reported that the penny-pinching Pittsburgh Pirates could be a "surprise spender" this offseason, estimating that they will add roughly $30-40 million in payroll.

Let's be honest –– the Pirates are not going to sign a $30 million AAV player in free agency. They're not going to spend more than $100 million on any single player, and they're not going to blow past $120 million in total payroll. They'll spread the money over multiple players, not one big fish.

At the end of the day, there are three realistic (keyword: realistic, not fan-fiction “sign Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette”) ways the Pirates could use a $30–40 million payroll boost heading into 2026 — aligned with their spending history, Ben Cherington’s risk profile and the actual market tiers they play in.

3 ways Pirates can spend rumored $30-40 million payroll boost before 2026

Trade for a cost-controlled everyday position player

We know that Cherington's favorite use of money is to absorb salary in a trade rather than pay full freight in free agency. An example of this strategy would be taking on a player with 1–3 years of control whose current team wants to clear money (think: Austin Meadows, Ji-Man Choi, José Quintana types –– but actually good players for once).

Sign a mid-tier starting pitcher

The Pirates will need to replace Mitch Keller if they trade him this offseason. Paul Skenes is their ace, and they have some exciting young arms in Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler, but a solid No. 3/4 starter can help stabilize their rotation for 2026. That will realistically cost any where from $8-12 million.

Sign a legitimate veteran reliever (for once)

There's precedent here, as the Pirates signed veteran shutdown reliever Aroldis Chapman to a one-year, $10.5 million contract just two offseasons ago. Prior to that, Cherington had never spent more than $5 million on a reliever –– but this year feels different, especially without David Bednar in the bullpen.

Let's say that acquiring an everyday outfield bat via trade will cost Cherington $10-12 million. That leaves roughly $10 million to sign a mid-tier starting pitcher (if Pittsburgh trades Keller), $6 million to sign a veteran reliever and $2-3 million for cheap depth pieces. That would bring Cherington's total offseason spending to $28-31 million –– still well out of his comfort zone, but relatively safe by the rest of the league's standards.

Regardless, if the Pirates truly have $30–40 million to play with, they can really build a credible 2026 roster by adding a real starting pitcher, a real reliever and a real position player upgrade. This would be their most aggressive offseason since… probably 2015–16.