Pirates dodging MLB manager hot seat misses Pittsburgh's bigger problem

What once looked to be a promising season has officially joined a growing drought, as the Pittsburgh Pirates have missed the playoffs yet again. Their streak of postseason-less seasons is now up to 11, with Yinzer Nation moving on to Year 14 since the last Buccos playoff victory.

There's still a chance to salvage some good from 2026, especially if the Pirates can win a few more games during the final weak and posting a winning season (i.e., a record better than .500) for the first time since 2018. But no matter what silver linings ownership tries to sell us, it's impossible to shake the feeling that this year should have been different.

With the difficult task of trying to appreciate improvement and navigate disappointment simultaneously, ownership will likely opt for the status quo in 2027, especially knowing that there's also a league-wide lockout soon to shape the future economic parameters of running a baseball team. Is that really the best path forward for the Pirates, though?

Ben Cherington, not Don Kelly, is the Pirates figurehead who should be on the hot seat

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal shared his annual report of managers on the hot seat last weekend — just before the Pirates were officially eliminated from postseason contention — and Don Kelly was nowhere to be found. By all accounts, it appears that the team will be running it back with their skipper.

Perhaps that's none too surprising after rumors spread last week that Ben Cherington would be coming back for his eighth year on the job as general manager. Under Bob Nutting, the Pirates have fallen in love with the status quo, results be damned.

And, truthfully, that's what matters most. Kelly has done a respectable (if not outright "good") job leading the Bucs this year, continuing the impressive work he did in 2025 by pulling a collapsing franchise out of the mud once Derek Shelton was fired. He's helped integrate new talent into the clubhouse like Brandon Lowe and Luke Weaver, ushering in a more competitive era of Pirates baseball.

The real issues stem from Cherington and Nutting. The former finally broke out his shell by acquiring stars like Lowe and Weaver, which was possible because the latter finally opened up his wallet enough to actually invest in upgrading the roster, but the end result has still been the same. Cherington didn't put together a good enough roster to win enough to make it to October. It's really as simple as that.

Everyone, from Kelly to Cherington to each of the players in the clubhouse, deserve their fair share of the blame pie. But one of the few constants over the past seven seasons has been the guy putting the rosters together. At some point, it's time for a fresh perspective.

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