Pirates' latest Astros hire reveals bigger plan to fix disappointing pitching staff

The Pittsburgh Pirates have spent years building their reputation around pitching development. After a disappointing 2026 season, however, they're increasingly turning to another organization to help restore that reputation.

According to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, the Pirates are hiring Sean Buchanan, who spent the past two seasons as the pitching coach for the Houston Astros' Triple-A affiliate in Sugar Land. Buchanan is expected to work with Pittsburgh's upper-level minor leaguers, although his exact role has not yet been determined. But his arrival is significant for reasons that extend beyond his impressive résumé.

Buchanan becomes the third member of Pittsburgh's pitching infrastructure with substantial ties to Houston, joining pitching coach Bill Murphy and assistant pitching coach Thomas Whitsett. Murphy spent four seasons overseeing the Astros' major league pitching staff before joining Pittsburgh ahead of 2026. Whitsett previously served as Sugar Land's pitching coach and Houston's assistant minor league pitching coordinator.

Now, with Buchanan joining the organization, a pattern is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. The Pirates are assembling something resembling an Astros-inspired pitching development operation — and after what happened to their pitching staff in 2026, it's not difficult to understand why.

Pirates are doubling down on Astros connections after disappointing season

Pittsburgh entered 2026 expecting its pitching staff to be the foundation of a competitive roster. Instead, that supposed strength became an unexpected source of concern.

The Pirates' starting rotation saw its ERA climb from 3.71 in 2025 to 4.23 in 2026, falling from a tie for sixth in baseball to a tie for 15th. The team allowed 739 runs overall.

Paul Skenes, fresh off winning the National League Cy Young Award, finished with a 3.82 ERA. Mitch Keller struggled through an injury-shortened campaign, and the Pirates were forced to rely on bullpen games down the stretch.

There were encouraging developments, including Braxton Ashcraft's All-Star campaign and Jared Jones' dominant September. But the rotation never consistently delivered the overwhelming advantage Pittsburgh had envisioned.

For an organization that has invested so heavily in young pitching talent, that regression raised uncomfortable questions about whether its developmental infrastructure was equipped to maximize those investments. Buchanan's track record suggests he could help.

Under his guidance, Sugar Land recorded a 4.51 ERA in 2026, the second-lowest mark in the notoriously hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. The Space Cowboys also led the league with a 1.40 WHIP and .243 opponents' batting average while ranking second with 1,346 strikeouts and nine shutouts.

Buchanan spent five seasons in Houston's organization, working at multiple minor league levels while also serving as an assistant pitching coordinator. That combination of individual player development and organizational oversight is particularly relevant for a Pirates farm system preparing another wave of young arms for the majors.

Pitchers such as Hunter Barco, Connor Wietgrefe and Khristian Curtis could all factor into Pittsburgh's future plans. Creating a consistent developmental approach between the upper minors and the major league staff could make their transitions smoother.

Still, there's an important distinction between importing another organization's coaches and successfully replicating its results. Murphy's first season in Pittsburgh didn't deliver the improvement the Pirates expected. Injuries and individual struggles contributed to that disappointment, but the organization cannot afford another season in which its pitching staff fails to meet expectations.

Rather than reconsidering that direction, general manager Ben Cherington appears committed to strengthening the infrastructure around Murphy. That could ultimately prove to be the right decision. After all, developing pitchers isn't simply about identifying talented arms. It's about creating a system capable of helping them improve, remain healthy and succeed consistently at the highest level.

Hiring another respected coach from Houston is a promising investment, but it isn't a substitute for results. Pittsburgh already has the raw talent to build one of baseball's better pitching staffs. The challenge now is ensuring that talent actually translates into sustained major league success.

Buchanan's arrival suggests the Pirates recognize that challenge extends beyond the players themselves. Whether their increasingly Astros-inspired pitching operation can solve it will be one of the most important questions facing the organization in 2027.

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