Pirates can make this drastic in-house pitching decision to shrewdly save money

Let’s be honest: the Pittsburgh Pirates need a closer. Not a “committee," not a “matchup-based ninth-inning approach," not another bargain-bin reliever who gets lit up by the Cincinnati Reds in June –– but a real closer.

And before Bob Nutting inevitably points to the price tags on the open market and says, “Wow, that’s a lot of money for three outs,” the Pirates have an option sitting right in front of them: Jared Jones — the electric, max-effort fireballer who might actually be better in the ninth inning than he ever will be in the rotation.

Yes, you read that right: Jones should be developed as the Pirates' closer when he returns from injury.

It’s bold. It’s drastic. And it’s exactly the kind of shrewd, cost-efficient baseball move the Pirates claim to love. So let’s talk about why.

Pirates can solve their closer problem in-house by moving Jared Jones to the bullpen

Remember how the Pirates traded David Bednar last year? Yeah, well… they never actually replaced him. The closers available in free agency this offseason are expensive, and the internal options are nonexistent. Dennis Santana surviving the non-tender deadline doesn't magically make him prime Craig Kimbrel –– plus, he's more of a setup man, anyway.

The Pirates are already saying they’re “open” to spending money, but fans know the truth: every dollar that goes to a closer is a dollar Nutting will pretend he can’t allocate anywhere else. So what's the solution? Create your own closer!

Jones is cheap, under club control, immediately impactful and the kind of bullpen anchor that can allow you to spend money on actual lineup upgrades. If this team can develop its own All-Star ninth-inning weapon, it completely changes the payroll math — and you know how much this front office loves payroll math.

Jones has always lived on pure, unfiltered explosiveness. He throws 99-101 mph with life and has a nasty slider with wipeout bite and a changeup he can pocket entirely in a one-inning role. He also has a max-effort delivery that starts to unspool the longer he stays out there.

Jones is fun. He’s electric. He’s terrifying… for about 60 pitches. Then the command wobbles, the mechanics drift, and the pitch count balloons. But if he's only throwing one inning at a time, then guess what? That never happens.

Jones becomes the version of himself fans already imagined when he was carving through the minors — the guy who could overpower anyone, anywhere, anytime. In a bullpen role, you let him be the monster without asking him to be a marathoner.

A lot of fans recoil at the idea of moving any top arm to the bullpen — but in this case, it might extend Jones’ career. Starters coming off injury have a tougher road, facing more innings, more stress and more opportunities for something to go wrong.

If you cap Jones' pitch count and let him unleash hell for 20–25 pitches instead of 90–110, you keep the arm fresher, healthier and more stable. You’re essentially preserving his most dangerous stuff and eliminating the moments where fatigue makes him hittable. A 3.50 ERA starter can become a 1.90 ERA closer, and a six-inning pitcher can become a 40-save monster.

The Pirates organization loves to talk about pitching depth. Well… put that depth to the test.

With Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller (if he's not traded), Mike Burrows, Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft and Jones (as a closer) the Pirates could comfortably cover rotation innings and build an elite bullpen. It’s time to stop hoarding starters like Pokémon cards and start using them to win games.

It’s easy for the Pirates to do nothing. It’s easy to trot out another mid-tier veteran or roll with Santana because he's "good enough for now." It’s easy to claim “flexibility” while signing relievers to minor-league deals. What’s hard is making the kind of organizationally defining choice that actually helps your team win. Turning Jones into your closer is that kind of choice.

This would solve the Pirates' closer problem, Jones' long-term health problem and the "Pirates never do anything creative" problem –– and it would do it all without spending money that Nutting doesn't want to spend.

If the Pirates want a dominant closer, they don’t need to buy one. They already have one — he just doesn't know it yet. Making Jones the closer is bold, strategic and financially sharp. And, perhaps most importantly, it harnesses the exact strengths that make him special.

It’s the kind of move a forward-thinking front office would make. So… Ben Cherington, if you’re listening? This is the rare decision that helps the Pirates win more and helps Nutting spend less –– which means, realistically, it might be the one bold idea Pittsburgh actually follows through on.