The difference between the Pittsburgh Pirates and an owner who cares about their team

To say the Pittsburgh Pirates are disappointing this year would be an understatement. They’re 17 games out of first place in the NL Central, and seemingly stalled out at just 76 wins in 2023 and 2024. the necessary steps forward just haven't been taken.

The Pirates are having no problems with their pitching, but their offense is scoring fewer runs per game than their Deadball Era counterparts. A lot of it has to do with poor decisions from the front office, which is ultimately handicapped by the owner of the organization, Bob Nutting.

The Pirates had just the 22nd-highest Opening Day payroll. Their biggest offseason signings to help a lineup in dire need of production were Tommy Pham and Adam Frazier. The sad part is, if the Pirates’ owner cared just a little more, they could be what the Detroit Tigers are today.

It wasn't that long ago the Tigers were in a very similar position to the Pirates. From 2015-2023, they had just one season with a record above .500. Of those nine seasons, four saw them lose more than 95 games, including in 2019 when they took 114 Ls. Even up until the All-Star break last season, the Tigers looked dead in the water and sold off some of their short-term pieces. 

However, the Tigers went on a tear in the second half, finishing with 86 wins and advancing all the way to the ALDS. You know what the Tigers’ didn’t do after this scorching hot end to the 2024 campaign? Sit on their hands and do nothing. They brought in a quality bat to fill a position of need in Gleyber Torres, who is now an All-Star. They re-signed Jack Flaherty after trading him to the Dodgers for key prospects. Then they brought in Tommy Kahnle to solidify the bullpen. They added one quality player to all three areas of the team, rather than trying to fix a sinking ship with duct tape and patch holes with past-their-prime stars, like the Pirates did.

The Tigers now have the most wins in MLB. Their payroll at the start of 2024 was just over $96 million, about $10 million more than the Pirates’ is now. After all their new commitments, they opened 2025 with a payroll a shade over $145 million, an increase of nearly $50 million. It’s not like the Tigers were 10 times more profitable than the Pirates either. Their 2024 revenue was $320 million, while the Pirates’ was $326 million.

On top of that, the Tigers completely revamped their player development in 2022. Many of their former top prospects, like Spencer Torkelson, Dillon Dingler, Colt Keith, and Wenceel Perez as well as pitchers like Reese Olson and Brant Hurter are excelling. Even players that weren’t notable prospects or low-cost additions, like Kerry Carpenter, Zack McKinstry, Will Vest, and Chase Lee have all found their groove and are some of the Tigers’ most productive players.

The Tigers’ commitment to improving has seen their attendance skyrocket, too. They were just 25th in attendance in 2023, even below the Pirates. Now, they’ve risen to 18th in the league. Sure, two MLB teams are playing in minor league stadiums, but their attendance per game has gone up by nearly 10K fans.

Their commitment has also increased their team’s valuation. In 2020, the Tigers valued at about $1.3 billion, and are now at $1.55 billion. Revenue in 2023 was $230 million, and has risen by nearly $100 million. Operating income was in the negatives in 2023, but is now well into the positives at $30 million. 

The Tigers are what the Pirates could be if Nutting put in the same sort of care as Chris Ilitch, the owner of the Tigers. The Tigers saw an opportunity to improve, and they took it, enhancing their player development process (not just their pitching) and adding some free agents who had a good chance to contribute, rather than relying on patchwork. All Pirates fans are left to do now is hope Nutting some day comes to his senses and sees a worthwhile opportunity.