Ben Cherington's latest comments sound like he's coming back and Pirates fans won't have it

On his weekly radio show on Sunday, Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington hinted at some potential offseason additions to the club's infield roster – but the infield is hardly the the Pirates' greatest area of concern heading into next season.

“As we look to build the team in 2026, [Jared] Triolo playing shortstop — or, at least, as part of a shortstop solution — is at least an option that we can consider,” Cherington said. “It opens up the options we have in terms of we might add back to the infield roster in the offseason. At least, I would expect we would."

Cherington went on to say more about Triolo's defensive versatility in the infield, but that didn't matter. It was the first part of his comment – the part where he talked about building the team for 2026 and things "we" might add to the roster this offseason – that understandably had Pirates fans' hair standing on end.

It's an option we can consider. We might add back to the infield roster. On one hand, it's not at all noteworthy that Cherington would speak in the first person about the organization that currently employs him; but on the other hand, is that organization really considering bringing him back next year?

Ben Cherington's latest comments sound like he's coming back and Pirates fans won't have it

The Pirates are in year six under Cherington, and they have no progress to show for it. If anything, they've regressed from where they were when he took over in 2020. The Pirates haven't come close to a playoff spot (or a winning season, for that matter) during the Cherington reign of terror, and it's only getting worse.

Frankly, the mere fact that Cherington seriously considers Triolo – a Gold Glove defender who can't hit his weight – to be a primary option at shortstop next season shows how unserious he is about building a winning franchise.

Perhaps before they concern themselves with who's going to make up their infield next season, the Pirates should find a different person to make that decision – one who actually cares about winning.

More Pirates content from Rum Bunter