Pirates Insider: Important growth shown by bullpen, catchers in 2026

The last Pirates playoff teams enjoyed production from catchers and elite bullpens. Despite falling short of its ultimate goal, the 2026 group took some important steps toward those goals.

While the bullpen certainly struggled early — only three teams had more blown saves (16) before the All-Star break — the turnaround among Pirates relievers was hard to ignore.

From July 18 on, Pittsburgh amassed the most fWAR (5.3) and had the second-best FIP (3.24) among all MLB bullpens.

Entering 2027, the Pirates have an elite closer (Mason Montgomery) and a top-tier setup man in place — and it’s easy to expect more than Luke Weaver’s 4.96 ERA in 16 1/3 innings with the Pirates.

Around those two could/should be Yohan Ramírez, Carmen Mlodzinski, Wilber Dotel, Lake Bachar, Evan Sisk, Brandon Eisert and a few others — a better starting point than we’ve seen in years.

“Ben [Cherington] did a great job at the deadline of acquiring pitchers,” Pirates pitching coach Bill Murphy said. “That really allowed us to deploy people in different ways.

“[Bachar] opening and doing a number of things allowed us to set other things up. Also the emergence of Mason Montgomery allowed us to solidify that particular position. I think it started with Ben and the work the front office did at the deadline. We’ve just seen our pitchers step into certain roles and really excel.”

Behind the plate, the Pirates should also encouraged by what they saw in 2026, even though there are probably some questions about the shape of the depth chart.

Overall, Pirates catchers were worth a combined 3.4 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs. That ranked ninth in MLB and represents a sizable improvement over how Pirates catchers fared in 2025 (1.0 fWAR, 25th).

Rafael Flores Jr. was the big story there, the right-handed hitter improving behind the plate and homering 11 times in 148 at-bats while producing an .858 OPS. Between Flores, Henry Davis, Endy Rodriguez, Joey Bart and Shawn Ross, Pirates catchers hit 29 homers, fifth-most in MLB.

“We see it as a strength going forward,” Pirates manager Ben Cherington said of the team’s catching depth. “I just hope those three continue to challenge each other.”

Five storylines

1. Montgomery began the season as a project lefty, an opener who only occasionally saw leverage inning.

Montgomery finished it by impersonating Aroldis Chapman or Josh Hader. Among the numbers:

• Montgomery’s scoreless streak of 24 2/3 was the longest for a Pirates reliever since 1989.

• The most fWAR (1.8) and second-best FIP (1.39) among MLB relievers with at least 20 innings pitched after the All-Star break.

• Had it not been for five starts, Montgomery’s 105 strikeouts would’ve been the third-most for a Pirates reliever in franchise history.

“I don't think he's faking his way to that performance,” Cherington said. “It's pretty real.”

And spectacular.

2. Yohan Ramírez was also a tremendous story … and important because he’ll be back.

The effervescent reliever enjoyed his first full MLB season and produced career-bests across the board: 66 games, 85.0 innings, 2.86 ERA, 1.2 fWAR and 102 strikeouts.

Not bad for someone who was designated for assignment nine times prior to this season. Ramirez earned himself regular work in Pittsburgh, though it came a variety of ways, from one appearances as an opener to multiple innings, fireman stuff and leverage.

Montgomery and Ramirez made the Pirates just the sixth team in the Modern Era (since 1901) to employ two pitchers who appeared in 65 or more games and notched 100 or more strikeouts in the same season.

3. Flipping over to catchers … Flores was one of the Pirates’ best stories this year, regardless of position. He struggled defensively and, for a stretch, looked more like a future first baseman.

He kept working, changed his setup and improved a bunch, throwing out seven of the final 22 (31.8%) runners who tried to steal against him.

Davis is easily the best defender of the group. However, Flores’ 11 homers and .858 OPS in 47 games made it a no-brainer to give him the bulk of the reps.

Flores also fared well against lefties (.924 OPS), which is something the Pirates need to balance out their lineup.

4. Weird spot with Davis. Only five catchers in either league were worth more defensive runs saved (FanGraphs) than Davis, who threw out 45.9% (20 of 37) of runners trying to steal.

Davis improved a lot with ABS challenges during the second half and excels as a game-planner and pitch-caller. But he’s also hitting just .178 with a .565 OPS through 958 MLB plate appearances.

Pretty much the opposite of what was expected of Davis when he was drafted.

5. The focus was on Luke Weaver among the Pirates adds at the trade deadline. But Bachar was a sneaky great pickup.

Bachar excelled as an opener, pitching to a 2.25 ERA in 16 innings during his Pirates starts. The right-hander worked 86 2/3 innings between Miami and Pittsburgh while producing a 3.43 ERA with 93 strikeouts in 86 2/3 innings.

The spin stuff was sharp, with Bachar allowing a batting average against under .200 and producing a whiff rate of at least 39.7% on his slider and curveball, which he threw a combined 40.7% of the time.

Four numbers

1:71: ERA for Ramirez in 40 games (52 2/3 innings) from June on.

102: wRC+ for Pirates catchers, their best such mark since 2018.

2.81: Gregory Soto’s ERA from July-September, spanning 32 innings. The veteran lefty had a 13.50 ERA in 7 1/3 June innings before rebounding.

18: Saves for Montgomery since he notched his first one on July 11, tired with Emilio Pagan and David Bednar for the MLB lead during that time.

Three questions

1. What happens with Carmen Mlodzinski? Cherington said they don’t need to define his role now, and the Pirates GM isn’t wrong. But it would make sense to have that conversation relatively soon in case Mlodzinski and the Pirates don’t agree on how he should be used.

If that’s as a reliever, great. Mlodzinski has a career 2.66 ERA in that spot and would help any bullpen in baseball. But if he insists on starting, it could make sense for the Pirates to try and recoup some of that value.

2. Can Rodriguez stay healthy?

When he was in the lineup, Rodriguez hit .267 and had an .840 OPS in 45 games. But he also couldn’t stay healthy, suffering from hip and glute issues that ended his season.

Feels like catching might not be in the cards for Rodriguez, but could the Pirates use his bat somewhere else?

3. Who do they add? With Soto’s contract expiring, the Pirates should have at least one position to back-fill. It could be a lefty setup man, or they could entrust those duties to Evan Sisk and Brandon Eisert, who pitched well at different times.

Same as ever, it’s the easiest thing to improve year-to-year. But with Montgomery, Weaver and a few others established, the Pirates could get creative.

Two predictions

1. Weaver returns to his previous form. OK, not a hot take considering he had a 1.84 ERA in 42 games with the Mets before the trade. Over the past three seasons, Weaver ranks 21st in fWAR (2.9) among relievers with at least 150 innings pitched.

The right-hander closed the season with four scoreless outings, while his four-seamer was among the most productive pitches (.192 BA against, run value of 8) on the staff.

2. The Pirates move on from either Mlodzinski or Davis this offseason. They’re not related situations. Merely things the team must consider considering in-house options and potential outside interest.

One quote

“He’s been fantastic. A guy who can swing it like that, who can catch and play first, he’s a really valuable guy. It’s been fun to see what he’s done.” — Ryan O’Hearn on Flores.

Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.