Ben Cherington's latest waiver claim keeps Pirates momentum going after Red Sox trade

From “The Password” to the bonus level, Ben Cherington may have already pulled off the most unexpected one-two punch of the the Pittsburgh Pirates' offseason.

After landing top-100 outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia from the Boston Red Sox — a move that finally felt like Pittsburgh taking a real swing on upside — Cherington doubled down in the most unexpected way possible by stealing Marco Luciano off waivers from the San Francisco Giants.

Yes, that Marco Luciano –– the former Giants crown-jewel prospect who was once ranked alongside Julio Rodríguez, CJ Abrams and Bobby Witt Jr. in the “future superstar” tier of prospect lists. And the Pirates got him … for nothing but a roster spot.

Look, we’re conditioned to treat Pirates waiver claims the same way we treat late-night infomercials — mildly amusing, low-stakes, and usually forgotten by morning. But this one hits completely differently.

Luciano is 24. He still has insane raw power. He still carries the arm, the bat speed, and the offensive ceiling that scouts drooled over in 2021–22. And instead of paying $15 million for a “project bat,” the Pirates paid the literal minimum. If they wanted to get this kind of upside on the free-agent market, they'd need Bob Nutting to accidentally leave his checkbook in Aruba.

The Pirates need impact bats yesterday. They need power, they need depth, they need future trade chips, and they need lottery tickets who can become more than “organizational depth.” Luciano checks every one of those boxes.

He struggled with injuries. He stalled at Triple-A. He didn’t immediately click in limited big-league time. So the Giants gave up. That’s fine. Their problem. The Pirates, meanwhile, desperately need someone with his exact profile: elite raw power, a chance to become an everyday infielder, years of club control, and a massive ceiling if he finally figures out pitch selection.

If Cherington had traded a fringe prospect for him, fans would be thrilled. But instead … he got him for free. This is how you build an offense when you're not spending money.

Pirates' waiver claim of Marco Luciano is a small move with potentially big implications

If you’re not buying middle-tier free agents, signing star hitters or trading Mitch Keller to fill multiple offensive holes, you had better be stockpiling upside like it's Bitcoin in 2012. And in a 24-hour span, Cherington did exactly that.

Let’s be clear: neither of these moves guarantees anything. Garcia might need Triple-A time, and Luciano might never tap into his All-Star potential. But the point remains that for the first time in a long time, the Pirates are stacking talent instead of treading water.

And when a front office that’s been overly cautious for five years suddenly starts taking legitimate upside swings? That’s when fans are allowed to start whispering the forbidden phrase: What if this is the start of something?

Cherington didn’t just get one potential impact bat this week. He got two –– one via trade, one via opportunistic theft, and both symbolizing something we haven’t seen in Pittsburgh in years: a Pirates front office acting like it actually wants to win.

Now keep going, Ben. We’re finally awake.