Paul Skenes stood in the back of the bullpen Saturday at Pirate City, watching teammates work through side sessions, a tower behind the practice fields packed with players observing the action. It felt different this spring. The good-vibes camp the Pirates trotted out this year is easy to notice. So is the roster that’s been rebuilt around their Cy Young winner.
“There’s nothing stopping us from being the best group in baseball,” Skenes told MLB.com this week. “The only thing that’s going to get in our way is ourselves.”
The 23-year-old ace isn’t wrong. After a decade of playoff drought and an offense that finished dead last in Major League Baseball in 2025, Pittsburgh finally committed. The Pirates held their first full-squad workout Monday in Bradenton with a dramatically different roster than the one that scraped together 583 runs and 117 home runs a year ago.
Ben Cherington Built an Actual Lineup
The transformation started in December when general manager Ben Cherington acquired two-time All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe from the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-team trade.
Lowe, who slugged 31 home runs in 2025, gives Pittsburgh something it hasn’t had in years: a legitimate middle-of-the-order threat from the left side. The Pirates received outfielder Jake Mangum and left-hander Mason Montgomery from Tampa Bay while sending right-hander Mike Burrows to Houston, addressing multiple roster holes in a single move.
Then came Ryan O’Hearn on a two-year, $29 million deal, the largest free-agent contract for a hitter in franchise history. O’Hearn slashed .281/.366/.437 with 17 home runs between Baltimore and San Diego last year, making his first All-Star team in the process. He brings defensive versatility and the kind of steady on-base presence Pittsburgh desperately needed.
Gregory Soto, the two-time All-Star reliever, signed a one-year, $7.75 million deal to shore up a bullpen that lacked left-handed options. And on Monday, the club officially announced the signing of Marcell Ozuna to a one-year, $12 million contract. Ozuna, 35, belted 40 home runs in 2023 and 39 in 2024 before a down 2025 campaign. He’ll slot in at designated hitter and provide right-handed balance to a lineup heavy with lefty bats.
Add outfielder Jhostynxon García, acquired from Boston in a trade that sent Johan Oviedo to the Red Sox, and Pittsburgh’s top six now looks formidable: Bryan Reynolds, Lowe, Ozuna, O’Hearn, Oneil Cruz, and Spencer Horwitz. That’s before counting the kid who might reshape the franchise.
Konnor Griffin Could Be Special
Konnor Griffin, MLB Pipeline’s consensus No. 1 overall prospect, is already turning heads in Bradenton. The 19-year-old shortstop hit .333/.415/.527 with 21 home runs and 65 stolen bases across three minor league levels in 2025, winning Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year. He’s been hitting bombs off buildings in batting practice and taking swings against Skenes in live BP sessions.
“Almost an intimidation factor up there,” Griffin said of facing his future rotation-mate. “You just see this large human being, and it’s throwing 99, 100 miles an hour.”
Manager Don Kelly hasn’t ruled out Griffin making the Opening Day roster. The service time calculus is real, but the talent is undeniable. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported the Pirates are “strongly considering” giving Griffin a shot at the starting shortstop job out of camp.
Cruz Working to Fix Major Weakness
Meanwhile, Cruz is laser-focused on addressing the gaping hole in his game. The toolsy center fielder hit just .102 against left-handed pitching in 2025, so this spring he’s specifically requested at-bats against Soto, whose wipeout slider and upper-90s fastball make him the toughest lefty available.
“He’s challenging himself; he wants to get better,” Kelly said. “He worked hard all offseason to do that.”
Pittsburgh’s Playoff Drought Should End in 2026
Pittsburgh’s franchise-record Opening Day payroll of just over $102 million still ranks near the bottom of baseball. But the pieces are finally in place around Skenes, Mitch Keller, Bubba Chandler, and a rotation that kept the team competitive even as the offense cratered.
The last time the Pirates made the postseason, Jake Arrieta was throwing a wild-card shutout against them at PNC Park. That was 2015. Ten years later, Ben Cherington has run out of excuses, and so have the Pirates. With Skenes and Griffin anchoring opposite ends of the diamond, the decade-long drought should end in 2026.