Through the ups and downs of the past few decades of Pirates baseball, the franchise has almost always had a reliable closer. Whether it’s Mark Melancon, Mike Williams or Joel Hanrahan, the ninth inning has almost always had a dedicated guy -- usually an All-Star.
Is that the best course of action for 2026, though?
Longtime closer David Bednar was dealt to the Yankees in July, opening up the most coveted spot in the bullpen. Dennis Santana inherited ninth-inning duties over those final two months, and he had a terrific season. But you can’t rule out the possibility that the Pirates could go with a closer by committee in 2026 or play the matchups and leverage. If the heart of the order is up in the eighth inning, wouldn’t it make sense to use your best reliever then?
Time will tell how the Pirates deploy their bullpen -- they’re still in the market for pitching, so they could even add another leverage reliever -- but without a clear closer, it raises the question of who has the ninth. Let’s take a look at some options for 2026 and the near future, putting them in groupings.
The traditional option
Dennis Santana
Look -- if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Santana entered 2025 with just four career saves, but he went on to pick up 16 over 19 attempts. He’s shown he can do the job, and he has grown into being a leader out of the bullpen. He checks the boxes. But if the Pirates want to play matchups more, Santana could be even more valuable chasing the most important outs of the game, not just the last three.
The leverage guys
Gregory Soto, Justin Lawrence, Isaac Mattson
In all likelihood, this is the field of pitchers who could also handle the seventh, eighth or ninth -- at least to start the year. Mattson was the bullpen’s most pleasant surprise last year. Soto signed a one-year, $7.75 million contract in December. Lawrence attacks hitters from a sidearm angle and looked good in his small sample size last year. There are some question marks: Lawrence missed most of last year with a shoulder injury, Soto is looking to rebound after a middling year and Mattson needs to prove last year wasn’t a fluke, but there are some good arms here who could handle late innings.
They could earn it
Mason Montgomery, Kyle Nicolas
While not exactly a prerequisite, almost every closer/leverage arm has big stuff, and Montgomery and Nicolas might have the two biggest arms in the Pirates’ bullpen. Montgomery’s fastball velocity is topped only by Aroldis Chapman for left-handed relievers, and Nicolas’ sinker graded as the Pirates’ best pitch last year, according to Stuff+.
The catch is Nicolas had a 4.74 ERA and Montgomery a 5.67 ERA last season. They’re both young and could develop. They have the stuff to be forces out of the bullpen. They just need to sharpen their command first.
Yet to reach the Majors
Ryan Harbin, Brandan Bidois
You can’t really project someone to pitch the eighth or ninth inning if they have yet to reach the show. Bidois and Harbin were both added to the roster this winter and could make an impact in 2026. Harbin can ramp his fastball up to triple digits, and Bidois was the organization’s Kent Tekulve Minor League Reliever of the Year, and he didn't allow a run over the final two months of the season.
The Pirates haven’t had a dedicated rookie closer since Rich Loiselle in 1997, so Harbin and Bidois are long shots at best. Still, both have the potential to become leverage arms in the not so distant future.
Let’s get weird
Carmen Mlodzinski, Braxton Ashcraft, Antwone Kelly
Ok, these wild cards may be too wild for consideration, especially since they’re all preparing to be starters this winter. We’ve seen Ashcraft and Mlodzinski each as both a starter and a reliever, and the latter has had more success in the Majors out of the bullpen. Ashcraft impressed as a starter, but his injury history does raise question marks of if he’ll be able to do the job long-term. Both have the stuff and mindset that you would want out of a closer, if they go down that path.
Kelly is the real mystery here. He has yet to reach Triple-A Indianapolis, but he was added to the roster this winter and has some of the most electric stuff in the system. Starter, reliever, multi-inning guy, there are a lot of different hats he could potentially wear in 2026.