Pirates can't even catch break with offseason ranking of non-playoff teams

For almost a decade now, we have been painfully aware that the Pittsburgh Pirates are not a playoff team. What remains up for debate, though, is just how far away they are from reaching the postseason – not in terms of the number of wins they accumulate in a given season, but in terms of the pieces they already have in place and how quickly they can propel themselves into the playoffs next year and beyond.

Of course, this is all subjective, and nothing can be predicted with absolute certainty; Cinderella stories happen all the time in pro sports. But former MLB general manager Jim Bowden took a crack at power-ranking all 18 of the non-playoff teams from 2024 for The Athletic in terms of how quickly they can feasibly turn things around to put themselves in position to make the playoffs next year.

So, where do the Pirates rank among baseball's have-nots? Bowden has them at No. 10 out of 18. At first glance, the ranking may not look horribly bad, but it doesn't exactly bode well for the Pirates that Bowden also ranks two of their National League Central Division rivals – the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs – ahead of them in terms of their likelihood of clinching a postseason berth next year.

Pirates can't even catch break with offseason ranking of non-playoff teams

As far as things working in the Pirates' favor, Bowden cites their "strong young starting rotation" anchored by Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller and Jared Jones. Interestingly, he also includes top pitching prospect Bubba Chandler on that list, though it is far from guaranteed that Chandler will earn a Major League starting role out of Spring Training next year.

Bowden also notes that the Pirates have a "solid group" of position players to build around – which is putting it nicely. Left fielder Bryan Reynolds has been their only constant on offense, with oft-injured third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes adding little to no support with his bat. Oneil Cruz can certainly hit for power, but he was a defensive liability to the point where he forced the Pirates' hand and made a surprise late-season move from shortstop to center field.

Additionally, Bowden mentions the impending return of catching prospect Endy Rodriguez, who had elbow surgery last offseason. Frankly, though, even if he does return to form this season, he doesn't figure to be an impact player for the Pirates at the Major League level.

Ultimately, Bowden says, some of Pittsburgh's young position players "will need to make significant improvements next year for the Pirates to make a playoff push," which is quite the understatement. It appears that Bowden has fallen into the trap of predicting the Pirates' future playoff success based on the sheer "potential" on their roster, but potential doesn't mean anything for a team that doesn't have a winning track record to back it up.

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