Pirates fans will believe MLB.com's 2026 prediction for Pittsburgh when they see it

The Pittsburgh Pirates traded away some important pieces at last month's trade deadline, including Gold Glove third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes and two-time All-Star closer David Bednar. But there is reason to believe – on paper, anyway – the National League Central's bottom-dwellers could go from deadline sellers in 2025 to deadline buyers in 2026.

Theo DeRosa of MLB.com recently included the Pirates among the handful of buyers at this year's deadline who could see their fortunes change as soon as next season, citing their top-tier starting rotation. In addition to the dominance of Paul Skenes, the reliability of Mitch Keller and the impending return of Jared Jones from the injured list, the Pirates' 2026 rotation will also likely include MLB Pipeline's No. 7 overall prospect in Bubba Chandler.

But the Pirates are still missing one thing, and it's the same thing they are always missing – offense. And unfortunately, based on recent history, there's no reason to believe that need will be met in an impactful way next season.

Pirates fans will believe MLB.com's 2026 prediction for Pittsburgh when they see it

Of course, DeRosa noted that the Pirates will need "a lot more thump in their lineup" if they hope to compete to the extent that allows them to become deadline buyers next year.

"Center fielder Oneil Cruz has that and then some, but picking up a couple power bats this offseason could go a long way," DeRosa wrote. "Pirates No. 6 prospect Termarr Johnson, the fourth overall pick in the 2022 Draft -- who is currently at Double-A -- could help, if he can crack the Majors by 2026."

DeRosa also noted that the Pirates have MLB's top overall prospect in Konnor Griffin. But the 2024 first-round pick is still only 19 years old and playing at High-A Greensboro, so it could take some time before we see him in Pittsburgh (even if he would be a considerable upgrade over practically any member of the current Major League lineup).

In other words, let's all get excited about a teenaged prospect playing at High-A to distract ourselves from the fact that there is extremely little to get excited about in the immediate future. Unfortunately, that sounds about right for the Pirates. And unless there are sweeping changes made in the offseason in terms of new front office personnel or a complete shift in spending, this "prediction" will be off by years.

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