Division rival’s teardown in latest trade with Red Sox puts pressure on Pirates to capitalize

Pittsburgh Pirates fans, rejoice –– the St. Louis Cardinals, the standard-bearers of the National League Central for most of the last two decades, are officially tearing it down.

First it was Sonny Gray. Then came Willson Contreras, shipped out in the latest deal with the Boston Red Sox. And now the whispers are getting louder — Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado, even JoJo Romero could be next.

This is a Pirates moment –– because when St. Louis waves the white flag, it changes the entire math of the division. The Cardinals aren’t lurking anymore. They aren’t waiting to pounce. They’re selling veterans, shedding payroll, and accepting pain now for something later. That creates oxygen in the NL Central — and oxygen doesn’t last.

The Chicago Cubs are always one ownership meeting away from spending. The Milwaukee Brewers never fully die. And rebuilds don’t take forever anymore (unless they're happening in Pittsburgh). The Cardinals will not be bad for long. They never are.

That means the Pirates don’t get to admire this teardown in St. Louis from afar. They have to capitalize before it's too late.

Cardinals' teardown in latest trade with Red Sox puts pressure on Pirates to capitalize in NL Central race

This was always the argument for patience in Pittsburgh: build pitching, stack prospects, wait until the division cracks. And now it has. The Cardinals are actively choosing tomorrow over today. That’s the kind of opening Pirates fans have been begging for since the rebuild began.

You don’t need a superteam to win the NL Central right now. You need competence, health, and one or two real bats to support a rotation that already has frontline firepower. You need to act like the division is there for the taking — because it is.

What you can’t do is treat this like another “step year.” You can’t watch Arenado rumors swirl and Donovan shop windows open and say, “Well, maybe next offseason.” Because next offseason, the opportunity may already be gone.

This is what pressure looks like — not from the fanbase, but from the standings. Your biggest rival just chose to get worse on purpose. That’s not something you shrug at. That’s something you attack.

Pirates fans don’t need miracles. They need intent. The Cardinals just showed theirs, and now it’s time for Pittsburgh to show theirs too — before this rare moment slips away like so many others have.