Pirates Targeting Left-Handed Pitching to Upgrade Roster

Ben Cherington leads the Pittsburgh Pirates into 2027 after posting an 82-80 record in 2026.

The Pittsburgh Pirates finished the 2026 season with an 82-80 record. This gave them an 11-win improvement over the previous year, as reported by MLB. They stayed in the race until the final weeks, according to Yahoo Sports.

“We believe whatever the record was, we know it wasn’t good enough,” Cherington said on Tuesday at the MLB general managers meetings in Las Vegas, as reported by MLB.

Pirates Target Left-Handed Pitching

The front office wants left-handed pitching for the roster, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh scouts the left-handed reliever market while open to a southpaw starter or swingman.

Pitching coach Bill Murphy spoke about righties and lefties.

“For me, it just comes down to, you just want to have good pitching,” Murphy said. “I don’t care if they throw righty or they throw lefty. They’ve got to be able to get out righties. They’ve got to be able to get out lefties.”

Brandon Lowe Considers Offer

Bringing back star second baseman Brandon Lowe via free agency is an early priority. The Pirates await Lowe’s decision on the $23.15 million qualifying offer before the deadline.

The team increased interest in big-ticket free agents by pursuing Kyle Schwarber and Munetaka Murakami last offseason before signing Ryan O’Hearn to the largest deal for a free-agent hitter in franchise history.

“I don’t feel like we’re hamstrung or constrained,” Cherington said.

The payroll increases yearly because of existing contracts for Bryan Reynolds and Mitch Keller, plus arbitration raises for young players.

Mitch Keller Eyes Return

Cherington expressed confidence in Mitch Keller making a full recovery from a right arm teres major muscle strain. The general manager said the team is “betting on good things” from Keller for 2027.

“You look at 2026 and our total pitching performance, I think it’s fair to say we gave up a few more runs than we thought we would and think we’re capable of,” Cherington said to MLB.

“We think we’re capable of being better than that. I also think there’s some things under the hood that suggest that maybe there’s a little bit of bad luck in there because the strikeout rate and walk rates are really good.”

“We’re bullish on what the pitching group can accomplish,” Cherington said to Yahoo Sports. “We have a roster that’s pretty solid. How do we upgrade it? This offseason, that’s a little less specific to a single position and more where are the opportunities?”

Will Brandon Lowe accept the $23.15 million qualifying offer from the Pirates?