ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Pirates are entering a pivotal season in 2026. There’s been a stated urgency to win all offseason, and that was seen in a busy Winter Meetings this week.
Sure, they only agreed to one deal, coming to terms with lefty reliever Gregory Soto on a one-year, $7.75 million contract, according to a source and pending a physical, but there was a lot more buzz -- and more meaningful discussions between the club and agents and other teams -- in 2025. A lot of that circled around Kyle Schwarber, who they missed out on despite offering what would have been a franchise record four-year, $125 million contract. Missing out on him meant they had to pivot their search, but now, they have more clarity about how their winter might look.
Let’s take a look back at the last week, with a look at what they can still do.
BIGGEST REMAINING NEEDS
1) Left-handed power
The Pirates finished last in baseball in home runs (117) and runs (583) in 2025. They obviously have to improve, and in a perfect world, it would be with left-handed pop. That doesn’t mean they would turn down a good hitting right-hander, but with the exception of Oneil Cruz and the switch-hitting Bryan Reynolds, they don’t have much help on the left side. They’d like to fix that.
2) An infielder
The most obvious hole to fill is at third base, but there is some positional flexibility among the Pirates infielders that they could land a second baseman instead and make it work. They are involved with free agent Jorge Polanco and have talked with the Rays about Brandon Lowe, both of whom would also help fill the desire for left-handed power.
3) Left fielder
The Pirates acquired outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia, the No. 85 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, earlier this month, and while he could impact the Major League team next year, don’t write his name into the Opening Day outfield yet. Pittsburgh would still like to bolster that group, and given that Lowe hasn’t played the outfield since 2022, it would be hard to imagine he would be used there if the Pirates trade for him.
HE SAID IT
It’s been a while since the Pirates have been connected to household names like Polanco and Lowe and Schwarber, proven Major League hitters who would bolster an offense that desperately needs help. For manager Don Kelly, being connected to free agents like that is “really exciting.”
“We all know how much 2026 means and a lot of discussions going on about building towards that,” Kelly said Monday. “It started right after the season was over this year. Obviously, 2025 didn't go as we had hoped and really looking forward to '26. Just covering every avenue that we possibly can to try to improve the team for next year.”
THE DRAFT LOTTERY
The Pirates had the third-best odds of landing the first overall pick in the 2026 Draft, but wound up with the No. 5 (where they would have landed in the old system). Since it will be their second straight year with a lottery pick, they will be ineligible for another in 2027. Needless to say, that makes this pick even more important.
THE RULE 5 DRAFT
The Pirates selected right-handed pitcher Carter Baumler from the Orioles in the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft, but they traded him to the Rangers for Minor League pitcher Jaiker Garcia and cash considerations. Pittsburgh did not lose a player in the Major League portion, keeping top 30 prospects Omar Alfonzo (No. 20) and Anthony Solometo (No. 26).
MORE FROM THIS WEEK
• The Pirates are being aggressive on the free agent market. General manager Ben Cherington talked about what the Pirates’ pitch looks like.
• New pitching coach Bill Murphy was also in Orlando, where he discussed why he came to Pittsburgh.
GM'S BOTTOM LINE
While the Pirates’ only free agent deal thus far has been for Soto, the priority is the offense. They want to add bats, emphasis on that being plural.
Of course, there’s a difference between having a desire and being able to get deals done. Time will tell how successful they are with the latter, but Cherington has expressed optimism that it will happen.
“[I'm] confident we’re going to land some things that help our position player group, help our team generally,” Cherington said Tuesday. “I don’t know if that’ll happen today or tomorrow, but I think we have more information every day. It’s more clear. The market is starting to move. You’re starting to see some stuff start to fall. That means other things will start to happen. We just need to be ready and in a position to say yes on the things that make the most sense to us. I’m confident we’ll figure that out.”