Jason Mackey: Revisiting Ben Cherington’s comments on upcoming stretch, trade deadline and more

DENVER — The same as those who follow his team, Ben Cherington won’t deny that the Pirates offense has lost some of its punch without Konnor Griffin in June and Oneil Cruz for the past two weeks.

At the same time, Pittsburgh’s general manager isn’t comfortable making excuses.

Though he expects Griffin to start a rehab assignment this week and hopes to hear good news following Cruz’s appointment Monday, Cherington knows the Pirates need others to step up in their absence.

“I think we’ve noticed the difference,” Cherington told me Sunday on 93.7 The Fan. “There are obviously at-bats during a game, particularly close games, where you know in a certain situation, there might be a hitter who just wouldn’t be in that situation if Oneil and Konnor were in the lineup. We miss them.

“At the same time, good teams find a way to win games when good players are on the IL.”

From Opening Day through May 31, the Pirates ranked fourth in MLB with 301 runs. However, since the calendar flipped to June, they’re 13th with 90 runs scored.

Is it the biggest deal in the world? No. Fans of the 2025 Pirates would’ve signed for that production in blood prior to this season. But it indicates a two-fold need the Pirates have as they welcome the Seattle Mariners to PNC Park.

It’ll be a boost to get Griffin and Cruz back soon, and they also need more from a few key spots. For example:

• Nick Gonzales’ homer Sunday was encouraging. It’s also hard to complain about a .303 average in June. But repeating that power stroke could improve his .706 OPS in June.

• Now that Henry Davis knows he’s staying in the Major Leagues, it’s time to work on that .591 OPS.

• Ryan O’Hearn was great in the Athletics series but struggled in Denver and has a .663 OPS this month, dropping his season mark from .850 on May 31 to .786 now.

“No one’s going to feel sorry for us,” Cherington added. “We just have to get the job done a little better.”

Among the other topics addressed …

Midpoint assessment

Thursday’s series finale will mark the halfway point of the 2026 season. The Pirates aren’t a finished product, but they’re also not out of anything.

Despite going 7-11 in June and amassing 16 blown saves — tied for the third-most in MLB — the Pirates sit just 1.5 games out of the NL Wild Card. They have a really good offense, their bullpen needs work, and the starting rotation has been solid (3.96 ERA, 9th) but also has more to offer.

Pittsburgh has mostly done a solid job bouncing back after tough losses, but it still hasn’t enjoyed a lengthy hot stretch, in large part due to the bullpen blowups and issues consistently hitting with runners in scoring position.

“We’ve gotten beat up a little with injuries,” Cherington said. “That hasn’t helped. But I think we’re still working on the same things. A little more consistent execution, finding ways to give ourselves as many good options as possible out of the ‘pen. We’re trying different things.

“We’ve had really good at-bats at times with runners in scoring position, runner on third base, less than two outs, those things. Other times haven’t gotten the job done.”

Cherington praised the fight the Pirates have shown, as well as the leadership veterans have brought. But the Pirates are also fully aware that it’s June 22, and they need to make a move up the standings soon.

“We’re still largely the same team we were at the quarter pole,” Cherington said. “We still have that opportunity ahead of us, but we have to get at it. Obviously more games have passed.”

Talking trades

Adding relief help has been a consistent conversation topic on Cherington’s show. The Pirates also really like recent acquisition Hunter Stratton’s previous success with the team, velocity and pitch mix, as well as his character.

But Cherington added another interesting wrinkle Sunday.

Talking about why traded Joey Bart and felt comfortable turning things over to Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis, Cherington said the Pirates liked their different personalities and skill sets, as well as their ages.

“They’re two guys who have a chance to be Pirates for a while, too,” Cherington said. “There’s some value for us in investing in both of those guys at the Major League level right now.”

Oddly enough, Pirates catchers have a .675 combined OPS this season, which ranks 13th in MLB. That’s up from .606 (26th) last season.

The last part of the trade discussion included me asking Cherington — again — about pursuing more help. He said he’s often asked the same question around PNC Park. The Pirates have talked to all 29 teams and continue to communicate with a smaller group more frequently.

Cherington remains hopeful the Pirates will be able to land something soon, too.

“It’s still a little bit early,” Cherington said. “Typically these things don’t really pick up until after the draft. Doesn’t mean we’re not trying. We’ll keep trying. I’m confident in our group. If we keep trying, keep at it on the phone lines all the time, we’ll get to something that makes sense and find a way to strengthen the team.”

Plot twist in ‘pen

As frustrating as Saturday’s game might’ve been — the Billy Cook interference calling, failing to score with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, not doing much against Tomoyuki Sugano — there was a small positive to pluck.

Carmen Mlodzinski followed Paul Skenes and his new role can be. He pitched two innings, kept the Pirates in it and would’ve gone out for the ninth. He should also be available early in the Mariners series.

Though it took some bumps to get here and the Pirates are still working out some of the kinks, how well Mlodzinski pitched and what he did for the team’s chances of winning were both encouraging.

“It was really set up perfectly for the kind of pitcher Carmen is,” Cherington said. “I do believe the bulk role that we’ve used at times the last couple years really can be a valuable role for the team and the pitcher.

“We think of it as basically 2-4 innings, depending on circumstance, depending on what happens in the game, then we reset after that and determine when that pitcher would be available the next time. The goal being the manager has some level of flexibility day-to-day of when to use those 2-4 innings.

“I think this role is something that’s here to stay in the Major Leagues.”

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