Pirates' next move after Ben Cherington's trade deadline debacle is abundantly clear

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ trade deadline was disappointing, and that’s putting it lightly. The return for star closer David Bednar was met with much criticism, as it felt light, especially when comparing it to what other relief pitchers got back at this year’s, as well as last year's deadline. Bailey Falter was traded for scraps and was later reported to be a non-tender candidate, despite solid results since coming to Pittsburgh. On top of that, they only traded two of their rentals: Adam Frazier and Caleb Ferguson.

Many Pirates fans aren’t just disappointed with Ben Cherington’s actions (or lack of action), but outright furious, and rightfully so. However, the damage has already been done, and will likely leave a lasting impact, for better or for worse (likely the latter). The only thing to do now is to move on to the next order of business. For the Pirates, that looks to be trying to shed whatever salary they can.

Despite selling off Bednar and Falter, Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, Tommy Pham, and Andrew Heaney remain Pirates, at least for now. But as we have seen in previous seasons, teams will put players on waivers at the end of August to try and clear some salary up, given there is no longer a waiver deadline. The best example of this is when the Los Angeles Angels placed six players on waivers on August 29, 2023, in an attempt to clear some cash before the end of the year.

Pirates' next move after Ben Cherington's awful trade deadline is abundantly clear

If any of IKF, Pham, and Heaney do not get claimed, the Pirates will likely ultimately release them. Last year, the Pirates placed center fielder Michael A. Taylor on outright waivers. He went unclaimed, and the Pirates later released him on September 25 and paid him his remaining salary for the 2024 season.

The next order of business should be letting Ben Cherington go. That should be a given at this point. After nearly five full MLB seasons, Cherington’s peak seasons look to be two 76-win seasons in 2023 and 2024. Despite a solid core of pitchers, he has not been able to put out any resemblance of a quality lineup, aside from a few hitters. Since taking over as the Pirates’ general manager after the 2019 season, his most valuable position player acquired via trade is Jack Suwinski, while his most valuable free agent hitter addition since taking over has been Carlos Santana in 2023.

Cherington should have been out the door at the end of the 2024 season, but this year’s deadline debacle should be the final nail in the coffin for his tenure in Pittsburgh. Prior to the deadline, it seemed that Bob Nutting was less than confident in Cherington’s abilities moving forward, and that his job security could be in danger. Given how the deadline played out, it’s hard to see Nutting’s confidence in Cherington improving.

After that, the only thing Pirates fans can hope for is that the team actually re-invests the money they freed up at this year’s deadline correctly. Whether or not one has confidence that they do is up for the individual to decide. Either way, it will bring a conclusion to what many consider the most disappointing season in the Pirates’ long history, and what looks to be one of, if not the worst, general manager hires by any Pittsburgh sports franchise.