Ben Cherington can’t even take full credit for best part of the Pittsburgh Pirates

There isn’t much Ben Cherington can be proud of since taking over general manager duties for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Fans are understandably upset that he is returning for yet another season after a third consecutive campaign that fell well short of many expectations. The offense was outright horrible, as the Pirates had the most games in baseball where they scored three or fewer runs. The one thing Cherington can boast about is his pitching staff, but he can’t even sensibly take full credit for that one.

The Pirates’ pitching staff was one of the best in baseball this year. They ranked top five in ERA+ (114), FIP (3.83), WHIP (1.22), and bWAR (+21.8). They allowed three or fewer earned runs in 92 games this season, which represented the fifth-most games in baseball under those conditions. Most of that was without the likes of Bubba Chandler, Johan Oviedo, and Jared Jones for most, if not all, of 2025, along with Andrew Heaney and his 5.39 ERA/79 ERA+ not being let go until the end of August.

But some of the Pirates’ best pitchers were not Ben Cherington-acquired players. Braxton Ashcraft finished off his outstanding rookie year with a 2.71 ERA, 2.78 FIP, and 1.25 WHIP. He had both a respectable 24.3% K% and 8.2% walk rate, with a HR/9 of 0.39. Ashcraft pitched well as a starter and has an inside track for a rotation spot in 2026. Ashcraft was also a 2018 second-round pick by Neal Huntington.

Another standout rookie was right-hander Mike Burrows. Burrows pitched to the tune of a 3.94 ERA, 4.00 FIP, and 1.24 WHIP over 96 innings. He put up a similar strikeout and walk rate as Ashcraft, with a 24.1% K% and 7.7% BB%. Burrows was also a 2018 pick, but was taken much later than Ashcraft. Huntington selected Burrows in the 11th round as a high schooler. He also has a chance to secure a rotation spot next season.

Neal Huntington deserves some credit for Pittsburgh Pirates' pitching wealth

Then there’s Mitch Keller. He had yet another solid season, posting a 4.19 ERA, 4.02 FIP, and 1.26 WHIP over 176.1 innings of work. Keller only struck out 20% of opponents, but continued to limit walks at a quality 6.8% rate. His 1.07 HR/9 is also the lowest mark he has put up since 2022.

2025 marked the third consecutive season in which Keller made at least 30 starts. Keller made his debut in 2019, when Huntington was still the Pirates’ GM. He was also a 2014 second-round pick by the Pirates.

When you look at his many other misses, it's no wonder why Cherington is not fully responsible for the pitching being so good. It’s not as if he is elite at identifying pitching talent. Brennan Malone and Miguel Yajure were two top prospects he acquired at the beginning of his tenure as the GM, but both had their careers derailed by injuries. Anthony Solometo was a second-round, overslot pick in 2021, who is coming off a second straight disappointing campaign. Roansy Contreras’ development completely stalled out after a promising 2022 rookie season.  He has turned Thomas Harrington's development into a game of hot potato, sending him back and forth from Triple-A and the Major Leagues, and not putting him into advantageous situations during his time in the Show.

He traded Quinn Priester for Nick Yorke last summer. Preister has had an outstanding breakout year with the Milwaukee Brewers (after the Boston Red Sox dealt him at the start of 2025), but the Pirates don’t even know what they have in Nick Yorke yet because Cherington has yet to give him a real shot in the Major Leagues.

He also traded Clay Holmes, who became an All-Star closer for the New York Yankees. Holmes was moved back into the rotation this year by the NY Mets, and put up some solid numbers, rubbing even more salt in the wound Cherington opened up. Other pitching prospects like Bryse Wilson, Wil Crowe, Eddy Yean, Joaquin Tejada, Luis Oviedo, and Jose Soriano either did not pan out, or had better seasons elsewhere.

Credit where credit is due for Cherington. He still made the right decision between Paul Skenes, Dylan Crews, and Wyatt Langford during the 2023 draft, along with other strong draft choices in previous seasons like Carmen Mlodzinski, Jared Jones, Bubba Chandler, and Hunter Barco. He has also found some diamonds in the rough, such as Dennis Santana, Isaac Mattson, and Justin Lawrence. The aforementioned Johan Oviedo was also a Cherington acquisition. Cherington has brought in some brilliant baseball minds who are able to help their pitchers take the next step, like Dewey Robinson and the recently departed Brent Strom.

But even with that being said, it’s hard to entirely credit Cherington for the pitching staff being so good. Three of the Pirates’ best pitchers this season weren’t even players he acquired. They were ones the last general manager, Neal Huntington, acquired, even if they did more development under Cherington. Bringing Cherington back when he has completely failed to build any offense, isn’t even entirely responsible for creating the strong pitching staff the Pirates have, and has had plenty of miscues when acquiring young pitching, is one of the worst decisions the Pirates could have made after yet another disastrous season that fell well short of what many expected them to do.