7-12-25 – By Josh Poe – @DaRealHanYolo on X
As we try to keep our sanity about the 2025 season, there is one thing I’m sure you’ve heard before: The Pirates will be better next year.
As hope is at an all-time low, I don’t think it’s too complicated to see that the Pirates should be better in ’26 – if they make the right moves. So, I want to tackle who I think will be in the bullpen because, to compete, they simply must have a strong bullpen.
Heading Out
I wanted to first discuss who from the pen I think will be dealt with at the deadline, as it is a few weeks away, and I’d like to speculate.
This is gonna hurt me as I look at his bobblehead, David Bednar is probably gone. I think his value right now is too high not to trade as he has not allowed an earned run since May 23rd – a stretch of 16 appearances, 15.1 innings pitched with 21 strikeouts to just 4 walks.
Caleb Ferguson is also gone. He’s a left-hander who’s been very good (2.77 ERA over 30 innings) and a pending free agent. The last name I’m going to mention isn’t one I think they will move, but if the Pirates are going to try to find a controllable piece, I could see Carmen Mlodzinski being packaged in a deal for a player. So, now let’s build a pen:
Holding The Fort
For a closer, Dennis Santana. Santana has been really good this year. As of writing this, he has a 1.60 ERA over 39.1 innings and 39 games. You can’t trade both Bednar and Santana as one needs to anchor the pen next year, and I don’t see this team going out and spending on the pen (and they don’t have to).
I feel like Bednar can also get a better return purely based on his turnaround and what he was like when he was on; however, I would try to add someone (and we will get to it) who could shoulder some of the load from Santana in ’26. But I want to see Santana get a run at closer. His work has been too good this year not to give it a try. Just check his savant page it looks amazing.
Justin Lawrence and Dauri Moreta. I’m going to put both of these guys here, as I think both will be back and hopefully healthy for 2026. Lawrence only threw 11.1 innings for the Pirates, but he looked really good, and his stuff looked nasty in that short amount of time. I think he could be a good 7th inning guy.
Moreta, whom we haven’t seen in a year and a half, was part of the team in ’23, and he performed decently with a 3.72 ERA in 58 innings. So, he could be a middle guy as well.
I’m pairing the two young guys, Isaac Mattson and Braxton Ashcraft, together. Both of these players have had limited MLB time, but have performed well. Ashcraft has a 2.05 ERA in 22 innings. Mattson has a 1.89 ERA in 19 innings. I see both of these guys put in when a starter is struggling to get them to the back-end boys. Your “bridge boys,” as I like to call them, could now see bigger roles, sure, but they are both young, so let them work their way up to it. (Mattson is 29, but he’s young in terms of Baseball.)
Predictions For Acquisitions
Okay, so my favorite section is where I predict and hope which free agents the Pirates could get. I’m gonna put two names down here, both lefties, as we do need some lefties in the pen (sorry, Borucki.)
Gregory Soto was once an insane closer in Detroit. Posting two All-Star seasons where he had 60 or more Ks. Since then, he hasn’t been as dominant, bouncing from Philly to Baltimore, where he is now with a 3.90 ERA over 32 innings.
The point being, his work isn’t too bad, but it’s definitely not as good as it used to be. But, given the knack this team has to find stuff in pitchers, especially lefties, let them give a run at Soto. He hasn’t been too good, so I would imagine he isn’t gonna cost that much. And man, if he could find it again, how insane that could be for the Bucs so…why not try it?
Next, I want to mention a story that came out in April about Aroldis Chapman saying he wanted to return to the Bucs, but they didn’t call him, resulting in him signing with the Red Sox. If he has an interest, I say go for it. However, I know his price may be too high, so I’ll move on to the next.
Drew Pomeranz has had a very interesting career, first as a starter, and in the latter half of his career, he’s become a pretty effective reliever. What’s funny is that if you check his savant page, it would appear that he shouldn’t be good. But this year, he has been one of the best pickups for the Cubs, throwing 24.2 innings and having a 0.73 ERA and a 1.014 WHIP. He would be entering his age-37 season, so he may or may not want a multi-year deal. But, he could be someone who could be thrown into many roles and multi-inning set-ups, a piggyback start with Ashcraft and Pomeranz could be amazing.
Now, before I go, I want to mention one more player I find interesting if the Pirates want to add some arms. Shelby Miller has been putting up a very good season in Arizona. His fastball is a bit above average, as well as his K, Whiff, and chase percentages, which have been above league average, with a 1.98 ERA. He is another one for whom you may be able to get a good deal, and he has some closing history, so could he help out with Santana? You may want to look into him, but he is a bit of a pipe dream, like Chapman.
So, these are the arms I expect/want in the Bullpen for ’26. I think the Pirates can compete (I really do!), and to be able to compete, they need a strong bullpen. So keep faith, y’all things look bleak, but there could/should (fingers crossed) be a light at the end of the tunnel.
And one more quick thing….GIVE HENRY DAVIS THE CATCHING JOB!
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