Pirates should pounce after division rival's roster crunch creates perfect opening

As the Pittsburgh Pirates continue to hover around the National League Wild Card race, the Cincinnati Reds just gave them the kind of low-cost gamble they should be willing to take.

Cincinnati officially activated Hunter Greene from the 60-day injured list ahead of his 2026 debut, and the corresponding roster crunch pushed outfielder Will Benson off the 40-man roster. The Reds designated Benson for assignment, creating a situation Pittsburgh should be monitoring closely.

Benson isn't a perfect player, and the Reds didn't cut him loose by accident. After looking like a possible breakout bat in 2023, he has fallen off sharply, hitting just .200/.279/.390 over 755 plate appearances since the start of 2024. For a Cincinnati team already struggling to stay afloat in the NL Central, Benson became expendable once the Reds added JJ Bleday and started experimenting with Matt McLain in center field.

But that's exactly why the Pirates should be interested.

Pirates should take advantage of Reds' roster crunch, add recently DFA'd Will Benson

The Pirates have decent outfield depth and left-handed power, but they're not in a position to turn down upside wherever they can find it. Benson still offers enough of all three to justify a waiver claim or a modest trade before another team gets involved.

Benson is 28 years old, has experience at all three outfield spots and has two remaining years of arbitration control. He has already shown, even briefly, that he can impact a big-league lineup. In 2023, he hit .275/.365/.498 with 11 home runs in 329 plate appearances for the Reds, looking like a late-blooming power bat with real staying power.

That version of Benson has largely disappeared over the last two seasons, but the Pirates should not be scared off by that alone. Players with loud tools and uneven track records are exactly the type of players a team like Pittsburgh should be targeting. Benson wouldn't cost top prospects or require a major financial commitment. He would simply give the Pirates another chance to find offense in a place where another team no longer had room to wait.

There is risk, obviously. Benson’s swing-and-miss issues and recent lack of production are real. But the Pirates have spent too much of this season searching for answers in an inconsistent lineup to ignore a player with this kind of upside.

Benson may not be a perfect solution. But after his DFA in Cincinnati, he is exactly the kind of gamble the Pirates should be willing to make.

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