Pirates may have 2 hidden bullpen weapons ready to break out in 2026

Much of the Pittsburgh Pirates' bullpen has been unsettled. The club has two solid back-end options in Dennis Santana and Gregory Soto, but who would serve as the bridge to the eighth and ninth innings, and how sturdy that bridge would be were open questions.

That's not exactly uncommon. While there are a handful of clubs that have bullpens that are chock-full of studs, most have questions in the middle innings. That's the rub with middle relievers. They're volatile. They can come out of nowhere and look like world beaters, and then a year later, those same pitchers can't seem to get anyone out.

That isn't to say that it's all a crapshoot or that Pittsburgh has consistently made great decisions when it comes to the bullpen arms they've stockpiled, because it isn't, and the club hasn't.

What it does mean is that sometimes a live arm or two can surprise. In the eyes of Pirates insider Jason Mackey, Justin Lawrence and Isaac Mattson are about to do just that.

Pirates insider predicts big years from Justin Lawrence and Isaac Mattson, which could transform the Pirates' bullpen into a dominant unit

Lawrence is a prime example of the volatility these kinds of relievers can undergo. With the Colorado Rockies, he looked like a promising bullpen piece in 2023, throwing 75 innings with a 3.72 ERA. He followed that up with a 6.49 ERA performance over 59 2/3 innings in 2024.

The Rockies outrighted him last March, which led him to Pittsburgh. His 2025 season was limited to just 17 2/3 innings, but outside of the thin Colorado air, his stuff ticked up, and he posted a career-best 33.3% strikeout rate and a minuscule 0.51 ERA.

Mattson has been with the Pirates longer, coming over from the Minnesota Twins ahead of the 2024 season. Last year represented the longest run, by far, that he's gotten in his big league career. The results were encouraging as he hurled 47 2/3 frames and posted a 2.45 ERA.

As Mackey notes, the pair has been nearly unhittable so far this spring. They've combined for 7 1/3 innings without giving up an earned run. Mattson hasn't allowed a walk and has given up just one hit while striking out four. Lawrence has given up just two hits and a walk while striking out three.

The Pirates have had some considerable luck turning around scrap heap relievers in recent years. Dennis Santana had a 6.26 ERA with the Yankees and is now considered a reliable closer. Caleb Ferguson had revitalized himself with Pittsburgh before being moved at last year's deadline. While there's a new man in charge of the pitchers in Bill Murphy, his track record with the Astros shouldn't give you pause that this kind of success can continue.

You never want to draw too much from spring training, but when it comes to these two, there were flashes of this last season, making the spring look more like a continuation of their development, rather than an aberration. If Mackey is right, the pen just got a whole lot deeper.