Even a Pirates bullpen trade can't erase Ben Cherington's costly mistake

Ben Cherington still has time to fix the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen. He does not have time to erase the fact that he allowed it to become a crisis.

The Pirates possess one of the most valuable trade assets available before the draft: the No. 34 overall pick. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel reported that Pittsburgh has been shopping the selection for roughly a month, with at least half a dozen teams attempting to acquire it. The asking price, according to McDaniel, is a quality Major League reliever.

That's exactly what the Pirates need. It's also what they have needed for quite some time.

Last year, the Tampa Bay Rays used the No. 37 pick to acquire Bryan Baker, a controllable reliever who now has 25 saves and a 1.73 ERA in 2026. Baker remains under team control for two more seasons. That is the standard Cherington is now being asked to match — or at least approach — with an even better draft pick.

Ben Cherington allowing the Pirates' bullpen to reach this point of desperation is unforgivable

If Cherington turns No. 34 into a late-inning arm with multiple years of control, he deserves credit. The Pirates are trying to compete, and draft-pick trades provide small-market teams with a rare opportunity to acquire immediate help without taking on an enormous salary. But completing a good trade still wouldn't absolve Cherington of the larger failure.

The Pirates entered this season with postseason expectations and a pitching staff (supposedly) capable of carrying them there. Yet their bullpen was constructed with little margin for error. Once injuries and regression arrived, the front office had no dependable contingency plan. Don Kelly has been left cycling through unreliable options, asking the same relievers to handle too many important innings and watching winnable games slip away.

Cherington has had years to build pitching depth throughout the organization. He knew the bullpen lacked proven late-inning certainty. He knew a competitive team could not afford to spend months auditioning relievers in leverage situations. He still waited until the bullpen began actively costing the Pirates games before pursuing a meaningful solution.

The clock is now ticking, just as McDaniel reported. Other teams expect the pick to be traded before the draft. Cherington must prove he can turn it into the kind of reliever who changes the complexion of Pittsburgh’s season.

But even the perfect deal would only stop the bleeding. It wouldn't change who allowed the wound to become this deep.

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