Paul Zeise: The Pirates appear to be better, but a lot of questions must still be answered

Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Feb 17, 2026

Published in Baseball

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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates' front office promised to spend some money to try to improve the roster this offseason, and they have at least delivered on that on some level.

There will be some who still don't think they did enough and others who will point to the fact that they didn't bring in one of the big-name players they were rumored to be sniffing around. There is merit to both discussions, but I don't think that either is strong enough to detract from the fact that the Pirates have added payroll and upgraded their offense.

Brandon Lowe will be the everyday second baseman and will represent a significant upgrade at the position over Nick Gonzales. Ryan O'Hearn is another good addition to the lineup and will help a little bit in right field, at first base and as a designated hitter.

Also, Marcell Ozuna is coming off a down year, but if he can bounce back to his 2024 form he will be a big improvement at designated hitter. Also, Jake Mangum provides the Pirates with a fourth outfielder who is a good contact hitter and can steal bases.

All of that should have fans optimistic about this season. But there are still so many questions facing the Pirates that I am not sure how anyone can produce these bold predictions of a division title and playoff run.

The catching tandem is still Joey Bart and Henry Davis, and neither of them has proven they are capable of being a legitimate threat in the lineup. Davis has especially struggled, and given that there is talk that Bart is being dangled as a trade piece, he could be asked to do the bulk of the work at catcher.

Davis, who was drafted first overall mostly because of his ability to hit, has pretty much been a bust through three years. He hasn't hit for average or power and he has shown few signs that he is going to improve enough to give the Pirates what they need at the plate from that position.

The same can be said about third base, as Jared Triolo is an excellent fielder but a below-average hitter. Triolo seems to be the ultimate utility player who would be miscast as an everyday player. And that's especially true at one of the corner infield positions.

Gonzales was actually one of the Pirates' more consistent hitters last season and probably will be a good, solid offensive option at shortstop. The question becomes whether he can handle the position defensively. And then, of course, can he hold off youngster Konnor Griffin? Griffin has obvious talent but there is always an unknown for rookie players.

The outfield is interesting because Bryan Reynolds, Oneil Cruz and whoever plays the third position are all a little shaky defensively. Reynolds is coming off a down year. And Cruz is an ultra-talented player who needs to arrive, finally.

Cruz is becoming one of the most frustrating players in the majors because of his natural talent and the expectations that people have for him. He has enormous power yet only hit 20 home runs last season. His OPS was .676 and he hit .200.

If the Pirates are going to take that next step as a team, they need Cruz to become that huge bat in the middle of the lineup. He needs to become one of the most feared hitters in the league, like he should be.

Paul Skenes is obviously the one sure thing on the roster, and while Mitch Keller can be inconsistent, he is steady enough that the Pirates know pretty much what they will get from him.

The rest of the pitching staff has talent, for sure, but they all need to prove they can be regulars in a major league rotation. That is especially true given that teams got a chance to see and have plenty of film on a few of their young and talented pitchers. So they will have to adjust some, and that's never easy.

Braxton Ashcraft started eight games last season and showed promise but now must make the jump to being a full-time starter. Bubba Chandler started four games and had a 4.02 ERA. Jared Jones is coming off a major injury and won't be available for at least two months.

Carmen Mlodzinski was decent enough as a reliever but has a long way to go to prove he can be a starter and regular in the rotation. There are a couple of other younger players, such as Hunter Barco. But again, they all have a lot to prove.

The Pirates, in order to get Ozuna in the lineup every day, will probably have to move players around and it will have a negative effect on their overall team defense.

It isn't unusual that the Pirates have so many questions facing them right now, because most teams do this time of year. But the Pirates have had so many bad seasons in a row, making this a situation where cautious optimism is justified.

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