Pirates once again fall short in area MLB players clearly value most

The new-look Pittsburgh Pirates have experienced early success in 2026 that looks and feels very sustainable. But despite a massive culture shift (and even a player-friendly improvement to PNC Park), some believe that the Pirates might still struggle to attract free agents in the coming years, as has been the case in the past.

The reason? MLB players don't like coming to the city of Pittsburgh, plain and simple. A new piece from The Athletic's Stephen J. Nesbitt revealed that MLB players ranked Pittsburgh among the five-worst road destinations in the league, alongside Baltimore, Kansas City, Cincinnati, and Detroit.

If you're wondering which cities/teams were in the top five, it was New York (Yankees and Mets), Chicago (Cubs), San Diego, Los Angeles (Dodgers), and Washington.

Nesbitt pulled these rankings, by the way, from a league-wide poll conducted last season wherein "players graded each MLB team’s setup in three areas: stadium ambience, facilities and the city itself."

There's no sugarcoating the poll results — they aren't what you love to see if you're a Pirates fan or a member of the organization. Then again, there's no use in overreacting to this apparent disdain for PNC Park, the Pirates' facilities, and the city of Pittsburgh itself -- all of which can be overcome with winning, which the 2026 Pirates are doing.

When you're a successful and entertaining baseball team, wholesome moments happen at your ballpark. It's just the consequence of establishing positive vibes in your organization, and the Pirates are doing that on all fronts this season.

Pirates can attract free agents by continuing to do what they're doing in 2026

Pittsburgh's culture change started in the offseason, when the Pirates made the wise decision to retain Don Kelly and immediately started making waves on the free-agent market, including a ceremonial (but meaningful) offer to Kyle Schwarber that got the attention of Major League Baseball and marked the Pirates' front office as an aggressive group serious about turning things around.

The Pirates ended up landing a very valuable free agent in Ryan O'Hearn, who has already become one of their best players in the early going this season. They also added talented guys like Marcell Ozuna and Gregory Soto, the latter of whom is experiencing a career resurgence in Pittsburgh.

All three of those guys have had success elsewhere, but they chose to come to Pittsburgh this offseason for a reason. Beyond the financial details (they all had other offers), they saw Pittsburgh as a place with appeal. This means others will, too, especially now that the Pirates are looking like they'll be a perennial playoff team under Kelly moving forward. That players poll is overrated and outdated!

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