Jake Mangum shouldn't be the punching bag for Pirates fans' 2026 misery

There is no shortage of legitimate frustration surrounding the 2026 Pittsburgh Pirates.

A team that entered the season talking openly about the postseason is now watching its playoff chances fade. The pitching staff has taken a stunning step backward, the lineup has been inconsistent, and the team has repeatedly failed to capitalize when opportunities presented themselves.

Jake Mangum, however, should not be catching nearly as much heat as he does.

Mangum is hardly a perfect player. In fact, some of the things that make him so entertaining are also the things that can make him maddening. For better or for worse, he plays like every baseball is the final out of Game 7.

Mangum is always fully committed to making the play, sometimes to a fault. He takes aggressive routes, sells out defensively and can become a victim of the moment instead of recognizing when the smarter choice is simply limiting the damage. There have been plays this season where his aggressiveness has cost Pittsburgh extra bases or runs.

At the plate, the same mentality shows up. Mangum swings. A lot.

Watching him chase pitches outside the strike zone can be infuriating, especially when the Pirates desperately need a disciplined at-bat. He's probably never going to be the poster child for controlling the strike zone.

But focusing exclusively on what Mangum doesn't do well ignores how productive he has actually been.

Oneil Cruz has been sidelined with a broken hand since June 7, and Mangum has been one of the primary players asked to absorb those missing outfield innings and plate appearances. Cruz owns an .822 OPS this season. Mangum has posted a .758 OPS since Cruz went down.

Nobody is arguing that Mangum is an equivalent player to Cruz. He isn't. But that's also hardly the catastrophic drop-off some would have you believe.

Mangum hit .321 in June, .319 in July and is batting .294 so far in August. He has consistently put the ball in play and found ways to reach base. His hyper-aggressive approach may produce some ugly swings, but it also produces a tremendous amount of contact. He fouls off pitches, extends at-bats and forces pitchers to work.

There's also something to be said for having a player who injects energy into a season that has become increasingly difficult to watch. Mangum runs hard. He plays hard. He is constantly involved in the action. Sometimes that aggressiveness works against him, but there is never much question about whether he is engaged.

Jake Mangum criticism is distracting Pirates fans from the bigger picture

Perhaps most importantly, the Pirates' problems are considerably bigger than Jake Mangum. Pittsburgh currently ranks 14th in Major League Baseball in man-games lost to the injured list. There have certainly been significant individual injuries, Cruz among them, but 14th out of 30 clubs is almost definitionally middle of the pack. Injuries have hurt, but they haven't uniquely sabotaged the Pirates' season.

None of this means Pirates fans should suddenly feel better about 2026. Mangum hitting around .300 doesn't erase a disappointing pitching staff, wasted opportunities or a season that appears increasingly likely to end without October baseball.

Mangum also isn't some hidden superstar who should be immune from criticism. He has flaws. His plate discipline can drive you crazy. His aggressiveness occasionally crosses the line from admirable to reckless. There are moments when he would benefit tremendously from slowing the game down.

But there is a massive gap between acknowledging those flaws and treating Mangum as though he is one of the reasons this season has gone sideways. He isn't. If anything, Mangum has been one of the unexpected bright spots.

No, he's not Mike Trout in his prime. But he's a good major league player who has produced when Pittsburgh needed someone to step into a larger role, plays with unmistakable effort and, perhaps most importantly in a frustrating season, is actually fun to watch.

There are plenty of deserving targets for Pirates fans' anger in 2026. Jake Mangum shouldn't be anywhere near the top of the list.

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