Ex-GM roasts Pirates' offseason half-measures as window opens

After an historic debut season from National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young finalist Paul Skenes, with more promising young arms coming up through the pipeline, it's not unreasonable to think that the Pittsburgh Pirates could be just one or two big moves away from being a legitimate contender in the National League.

And yet, here we are with spring training just over a month away, and no big moves have been made. The club's inactivity this offseason is maddening for Pirates fans, who, at this point, know better than to be surprised by this team's "bare-minimum" approach. However, the frustration with the front office's ineptitude is now extending beyond the fanbase.

In a recent appearance on MLB Network Radio, former MLB general manager Jim Bowden took the Pirates' front office and team owner Bob Nutting to task for failing to capitalize on the window they have with one of the better pitching staffs in baseball.

"If you're a team like the Pirates... and all of a sudden you have the pitching and you're not making the effort to get the offense to win, you don't even understand the mistake you're making for your fan base," Bowden said. "And if you're an owner, step up."

Former MLB GM Jim Bowden roasts Pirates' offseason half-measures as window opens

Bowden noted the difficulty for small market teams to acquire quality starting pitching due to skyrocketing costs in free agency; however, he pointed out that the Pirates don't have that problem, as they are in good hands with Skenes, Jared Jones and Mitch Keller anchoring their Major League rotation.

But good pitching will only take a team so far without run support. The Pirates have struggled offensively throughout their decade-long playoff drought, and the 2024 campaign was no different. Pittsburgh finished last season ranked 23rd in batting average (.234), 24th in runs (665), 26th in on-base percentage (.301) and 27th in slugging percentage (.371).

The Pirates' grand solution to their lack of offense this offseason? Trading for first baseman Spencer Horwitz, a light-hitting, 27-year-old rookie with 112 Major League games to his name. Sorry, but no one is buying that as a needle-moving addition to this below-average lineup.

As long as the Pirates don't bolster their offense with some legitimate bats, they are wasting the grade-A pitching rotation that they have spent years building. They need to invest in the offense if they want to win; if not now, when?

"If you're the Pirates, and you built this rotation, you're the Mariners, and you have one of the top three rotations of baseball, this is when you have to go all in," Bowden said. "You have to go all in."

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