The future of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ rotation

Of course, there are a lot of guys below Double-A, like Patrick Reilly, Jun-Seok Shim, Michael Kennedy, Carlson Reed, Zander Mueth, and Hung-Leng Chang. However, the guys discussed above are likely going to get the chance to make an impact within the next year. So how is this rotation looking in the near future?

Well, obviously Skenes, Jones, and Keller are going to head the rotation, probably for the long haul. Oviedo will likely slot into the back of the Pirates' rotation once he's back up to full speed. That leaves the 5th and final spot of the rotation. If Marco's injury lingers, the Pirates likely won't pick up his $15 million option. If they opt to go this route, then it'll likely be between Falter and potentially Burrows for the last spot. Either way, Gonzales' contract is up after 2025 and the Pirates would need to find a replacement anyway.

Something that would be extremely bold would be to start the year with Bubba Chandler in the Opening Day rotation. He could be in a similar dilemma to that of Jones during Spring Training this year. If he continues to pitch well this year and does well in Spring Training 2025, he could force the Pirates' hand. In previous seasons, I'd probably say while I'd love to see that, it's not something I'd expect the Pirates would do. But after giving Jones the opportunity out of Spring Training this year and promoting Skenes so early into the season, I'm not nearly as skeptical of this.

Regardless, I think the long-term outlook for the Pirates' rotation is very bright.

There's so much depth and highly touted guys that this is easily what the Pirates need to build around. The rotation and pitching staff is one of the bright spots this year, and it should be for years to come.