2025 Pittsburgh Pirates

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June 2nd, 2026
SP Matthew Boyd placed on the active roster.
RP Angel Perdomo claimed on waivers from the New York Yankees.

June 3rd, 2026
RP Chase Shugart optioned to AAA Indianapolis.
RP Angel Perdomo placed on the active roster.

June 7th, 2026
Pittsburgh and Detroit come to a trade agreement. Pittsburgh sends 31yo RHP David Bednar in exchange for 24yo minor league 1B Max Anderson.
RP Carmen Mlodzinski activated from the IL.

June 10th, 2026
RP Declan Cronin claimed on waivers from Kansas City.

June 11th, 2026
RP Carmen Mlodzinski optioned to AAA Indianapolis.
RP Declan Cronin placed on the active roster.

June 12th, 2026
SP Jared Jones begins his rehab assignment for AAA Indianapolis. Pirates plan on starting Jones in 4-5 games before activating him from the IL. He last pitched April 15th.

June 20th, 2026
RF Kyle Tucker begins rehab assignment for AA Altoona.

June 23rd, 2026
SS Nick Ahmed waived and DFA.
RF Kyle Tucker activated from the IL.

June 25th, 2026
LF Jarred Kelenic claimed on waivers from Atlanta.

June 26th, 2026
CF Matt Gorski optioned to AAA Indianapolis.
LF Jarred Kelenic placed on the active roster.
SS Nick Ahmed released.

June 30th, 2026
2B Konnor Griffin was named MVP of the West vs East Single A All-Star game.

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1/19 - 21yo C Justin Lowry, JR out of University of Michigan. Justin has a chance to be an absolute defensive juggernaut but does need to improve his arm strength significantly in order to reach that potential and at the minimum be a Gold Glove candidate for a decade plus. He’s not all defense though as he does have a solid bat with plus power and above average contact ability. Doesn’t strike out a lot for someone with his power but doesn’t draw many walks either. Big bodied and doesn’t move well on the base paths at all.

2/19 - 19yo SS Brian Beaulier out of Santa Ana HS. Brian is an elite hitter and grades out at the top of the scale and has average pop to go along with it. Not a factor on the base paths and needs lots of work defensively if he is to remain at short and be the teams SS of future. Draws a lot of comps to Jacob Wilson but with more raw power.

4/17 - 18yo C Felipe Garcia out of Clay HS. The Pirates brass have stated they like his bat as he boasts nearly plus plus power and above average contact ability but his defense won’t cut it at C so a move to LF seems in order. Like the last couple of picks no threat on the base paths whatsoever. His defense may always be lackluster so his bat will have to carry him to the majors.

5/18 - 21yo 2B Marc Herman, JR out of Texas A&M University. Marc is a jack of all trades ball player. His bat is above average coupled with his ability to be a nightmare on the base paths he is a dangerous offensive weapon. He also has the capability to play above average at 2B with room to improve. Marc has the potential to be a 5 tool machine if he has the drive to push himself and succeed.

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July 10th, 2026
RP Declan Cronin optioned to AAA Indianapolis.
SP Jared Jones has been activated from the IL. The Pirates brass haven’t been pleased with Jones body of work and have decided to use him out of the bullpen.

July 15th, 2026
RP Richard Lovelady placed on the 60 day IL with shoulder inflammation. He’s expected to miss 3 months but his season is virtually over.
RP Declan Ronin recalled from AAA Indianapolis.

July 19th, 2026
SP Paul Skenes opens his MLB career with his 3rd All-Star game.
CL Ryan Helsley makes 3rd straight All-Star games and 4th overall.
CF Jack Suwinski makes his first All-Star game.

July 26th, 2026
RP Luke Jackson waived and DFA.
C Endy Rodriguez placed on the 10 day IL with a calf strain. He’s expected to miss 3 weeks.
C Omar Alfonzo had his contract selected.

August 2nd, 2026
RP Luke Jackson has been released.

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Pittsburgh is just one month away from doing something it hasn’t done since 1992, 34 years ago, and that’s win their division.

August 17th, 2026
SP Paul Skenes placed on the 15 day IL with mild shoulder inflammation. He’s expected to miss 1-2 weeks and be activated immediately if all goes well.
C Endy Rodriguez begins rehab assignment with AAA Indianapolis.
RP Carmen Mlodzinski recalled from AAA Indianapolis.

August 19th, 2026
LF Termarr Johnson placed on the 10 day IL with a fractured foot. He’s expected to miss 4 weeks.
LF Enmanuel Valdez recalled from AAA Indianapolis.

August 21, 2026
C Omar Alfonzo optioned to AAA Indianapolis.
C Endy Rodriguez activated from the IL.

September 1st, 2026
RP Kyle Nicolas had his contract selected.
CF Matt Gorski recalled from AAA Indianapolis.

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September 2nd, 2026
RP Kyle Nicolas optioned to AAA Indianapolis.
SP Paul Skenes activated from the IL.

September 14th, 2026
CF Jack Suwinski wins NL Player of the Week he went 8-20, with 5 home runs, 9 RBIs, and 6 stolen bases.
LF Termarr Johnson begins his rehab assignment for AAA Indianapolis.

September 21st, 2026
SP Paul Skenes placed on the 15 day IL with a bone spur (elbow) he’s expected to miss 2 weeks.
RP Kyle Nicolas recalled from AAA Indianapolis.

September 23rd, 2026
The Pirates punched their ticket to the 2026 MLB Playoffs. This will make their 2nd straight playoff appearance.

September 25th, 2026
RF Matt Gorski optioned to AAA Indianapolis.
LF Termarr Johnson activated from the IL.

September 29th, 2026
The Pirates have officially clinched their first division crown since 1992. Outside of Matthew Boyd nobody on the Pirates current active roster was even born.

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Washington @ Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Wins 7-2
Pittsburgh wins game one and takes the series lead 1-0. Pittsburgh is just one win away from the NLDS, last appearance was back in 2013.

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Washington @ Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh wins 7-6
Pittsburgh takes game two and sweeps Washington 2-0 in route to the NLDS to take on the Atlanta Braves. This team continues to make history in what has been an amazing season so far.

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Pittsburgh @ Atlanta: Pittsburgh wins 6-3
Pittsburgh takes game one 6-3 and holds a 1-0 series lead.

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Pittsburgh @ Atlanta: Pittsburgh wins 9-4 and takes a commanding 2-0 series lead. Pirates need to win just one of the next three games and they will earn a birth in the NLCS for the first time since 1992.

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Atlanta @ Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh wins 7-3 and record their second sweep of the playoffs this time 3-0 over Atlanta. Now for the first time since 1992 the Pirates are heading back to the NLCS to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Pittsburgh @ Los Angeles Dodgers: Dodgers win easily 9-1. With a big 1st inning the Dodgers spoiled a perfect postseason record and ran Skenes out of the game before three outs were even made. Los Angeles leads 1-0 and if the first game is an indication of what’s to come then this will be a long series, or rather short one for the Pirates.

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Pittsburgh @ Los Angeles Dodgers: Pittsburgh takes game two 10-4 and evens the series at one as they head home with a chance to take the lead.

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Los Angeles Dodgers @ Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh takes game three by the score of 6-1 and takes the series lead two games to one in front of 41,319 Pirate fans with a vast majority of them never witnessing their Pirates this deep in the playoffs.

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Los Angeles Dodgers @ Pittsburgh: With a 7-3 victory the Pirates find themselves just one win away from their first World Series birth since 1979 when they defeated Baltimore in 7 games. Paul Skenes will look to bounce back and clinch a birth to the World Series in front of a home crowd.

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Los Angeles Dodgers @ Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh shuts out LA in game five 2-0 and shuts the door on the Dodgers chances for a World Series as they take the series 4-1. For the first time since 1979 the Pittsburgh Pirates are heading to the World Series to take on the Boston Red Sox who defeated Baltimore 4-1. Jack Brannigan wins the 2026 NLCS MVP. Jack hit .389 with a .450 on-base percentage adding 1 home run, 2 RBIs, 6 runs, and stole 5 bases.

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Pittsburgh enters the World Series with the 2nd lowest payroll in baseball at $86,042,100. For reference the 2003 World Series winning Marlins were the 6th lowest that year in payroll. Let’s take a look at how the Pirates acquired each player on the 2026 World Series roster.

Trade - 11
MLB Draft - 8
Waiver Claims - 5
FA Signing - 2

SP Hunter Brown trade with HOU (04/30/2025)
SP Paul Skenes 2023 MLB Draft Rd 1 Pick 1
SP Matthew Boyd trade with TOR (06/01/2026)
SP Jared Jones 2020 MLB Draft Rd 2 Pick 44
CL Ryan Helsley trade with StL (03/27/2025)
SU/CL Angel Perdomo waivers from NYY (06/02/2026)
SU Bubba Chandler 2021 MLB Draft Rd 3 Pick 72
RP Yennier Cano trade with BAL (07/28/2025)
RP Braxton Ashcraft 2018 MLB Draft Rd 2 Pick 51
RP Caleb Ferguson FA Signing (01/10/2025)
RP Hunter Stratton 2017 MLB Draft Rd 16 Pick 478
RP Declan Cronin waivers from KC (06/10/2026)
RP Colin Holderman trade with NYM (07/22/2022)
RF Kyle Tucker FA Signing (12/06/2025)
CF Jack Suwinski trade with SD (07/26/2021)
2B Jack Brannigan 2022 MLB Draft Rd 3 Pick 83
1B Oneil Cruz trade with LAD (07/31/2017)
LF Jarred Kelenic waivers from ATL (06/25/2026)
3B Jared Triolo 2019 MLB Draft Rd 2 Pick 72
C Endy Rodriguez trade with NYM (01/19/2021)
DH Sean Bouchard waivers from COL (04/18/2026)
SS Dansby Swanson trade with CHC (03/24/2026)
C Joey Bart trade with SF (04/02/2024)
2B Liover Peguero trade with ARI (01/27/2020)
2B Oswald Peraza waivers from NYY (04/12/2025)
LF Termarr Johnson 2022 MLB Draft Rd 1 Pick 4

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Boston @ Pittsburgh: Joey Bart is the hero of game one as his walk off double wins the game for Pittsburgh 7-6. Was not a particularly good night for the high leverage arms of Pittsburgh but it was enough for the win and Pittsburgh is one step closer to ultimate glory.

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Boston @ Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh continues their march to glory with a 6-3 win. They will take a 2-0 series lead and hope to wrap things up in Boston and return home as champions of the baseball world.

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Pittsburgh @ Boston: Boston wakes up in front of their home crowd and takes game three 6-4 to cut the series lead in half 2-1.

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Pittsburgh @ Boston: Once again late game bullpen issues cost Pittsburgh the W and Boston takes game four 5-4 and evens the series at 2.