The Pittsburgh Pirates appear to be trending in the right direction after finishing over .500 at 82-80 for the first time since 2018.
Still, it wasn't enough to make the playoffs, meaning it's back to the drawing board for general manager Ben Cherington and company in an offseason that'll be defined by CBA negotiations and the impending lockout.
With that, here are Pittsburgh's top priorities ahead of the 2027 season ranked in order of importance.
No. 1: Keeping Brandon Lowe
Lowe was one of the best second basemen in baseball this past season after coming to the Pirates from the Tampa Bay Rays alongside Mason Montgomery and Jake Mangum in a three-team trade last December that saw Pittsburgh send Mike Burrows to the Houston Astros.
Over 656 plate appearances, the 32-year-old slashed .260/.331/.493 with 35 home runs, 96 RBIs and a career-high 5.4 bWAR while also being one of three finalists for the National League Gold Glove Award at second base.
A lot is unknown about how this upcoming offseason will play out with a lockout looming amidst CBA negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA.
Whether or not a salary cap/floor gets implemented, and just how long the prospective lockout drags out, heading into the 2027 campaign remains to be seen.
As such, the tenor of negotiations between Pittsburgh and Lowe once he reaches free agency could be vastly different depending on whether they occur before or after December 1, which is when the lockout would commence.
Putting all of that to the side, though, the Pirates have to find a way to retain Lowe.
Ryan O'Hearn currently holds the title of the most expensive free agent signing in club history from an average annual value (AAV) perspective at $14.5 million.
Lowe, whom Spotrac projects to secure a four-year, $91.24 million contract this offseason, is set to blow that mark out of the water.
Is Pittsburgh willing to go out of its comfort range and pony up in order to keep a star like Lowe? Only time will tell, but it has to be the organization's top priority nonetheless.
No. 2: Find Another High-Leverage Reliever
Montgomery emerged as an elite late-game weapon out of the bullpen for the Pirates this year, posting a 2.88 ERA, 18 saves and 13.8 K/9 with elite underlying metrics.
Luke Weaver was one of the best relievers in the league for the New York Mets before being dealt to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline and logging a 4.96 ERA across 16 1/3 innings for the club.
Regardless of his struggles for the Pirates, which were exacerbated by a severe case of poison ivy, the expectation should remain that he'll be an extremely reliable option next to Montgomery.
Outside of those two, though, Pittsburgh is thin in the back-end of its bullpen.
Yohan Ramírez, Lake Bachar and Carmen Mlodzinski (if he doesn't move back to the rotation) have all proven to be solid middle relievers, and perhaps a few of the team's younger arms such as Wilber Dotel, Antwone Kelly and Thomas Harrington could take some steps forward.
None of those players can truly be counted on late in close games, however, and the Pirates can't have a situation in 2027 like they had this season where they blow a slew of contests due to a deficiency of high-leverage relievers.
Whether it's via the trade market or free agency, Pittsburgh must make a splash move for a top-end bullpen arm to pair with Montgomery and Weaver.
No. 3: Solve Woes Against Left-Handed Pitching
The Pirates scored the sixth-most runs in baseball this season with 767.
They particularly thrived against right-handed pitching, putting up the sixth-best OPS of any club in the league (.749) while tying for the eighth-best wRC+ (105).
Pittsburgh had far more trouble cracking the code against left-handers, though, as it finished with a 92 wRC+ (tied for eighth-worst in MLB) against them.
Esmerlyn Valdez (168 wRC+, 1.012 OPS), Oneil Cruz (131 wRC+, .924 OPS), Konnor Griffin (127 wRC+, .831 OPS) and Bryan Reynolds (123 wRC+, .807 OPS) all performed well vs. southpaws, but the opposite can be said for some of the Pirates' other lineup staples such as Lowe (73 wRC+, .648 OPS), Ryan O'Hearn (68 wRC+, .620 OPS), Nick Gonzales (91 wRC+, .681 OPS), Jake Mangum (88 wRC+, .679 OPS) and Spencer Horwitz (73 wRC+, .596 OPS).
Solving those issues against left-handers would go a long way towards snapping an 11-year-long postseason drought for Pittsburgh.
No. 4: Find a Left-Handed Starting Pitcher
While Paul Skenes wasn't quite himself in 2025, the top of the Pirates' rotation was still one of the club's strengths.
Skenes, who had a 3.82 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 174 1/3 innings, paired with Braxton Ashcraft (3.65 ERA, 173 Ks in 165 1/3 frames) and Jared Jones (3.72 ERA, 123 Ks in 101 2/3 innings) to create a really strong one-two-three punch.
Bubba Chandler logged a 4.50 ERA across 154 innings in what was his rookie campaign, but the former top prospect has all the necessary tools to become a frontline starter in the near future.
Skenes, Ashcraft, Jones and Chandler are all right-handers, however, and the same goes for Mitch Keller.
Keller suffered a teres muscle major injury that kept him out for the final two months of the season or so. He was far from effective when healthy, though, pitching to a 5.29 ERA over 115 2/3 frames.
Considering he'll make $18 million in 2027 and $20 million in 2028, Keller is likely to stick in the rotation.
Perhaps the Pirates will look to trade him, though, and if they can find a taker, that would open up another spot for a starter, which should be used on a southpaw.
Unless the organization is confident in Hunter Barco, they don't have any other healthy upper-level left-handed starters in the minors as Anthony Solometo continues to recover from left shoulder labrum surgery he underwent in April and may keep him out for a chunk of the 2027 campaign.
Pittsburgh isn't going to be a player for Tarik Skubal or likely any of the other top lefty starters on the free agent market.
The Pirates also don't need a top-of-the-rotation arm, though, and simply finding a southpaw who can eat innings as the club's No. 5 starter would suffice.
No. 5: Improve Outfield Defense
Pittsburgh's outfield defense was a sore spot in 2026, as the unit posted -10 Outs Above Average and -16 Defensive Runs Saved.
An easy solution to fixing those issues is letting O'Hearn play first base or serve as the designated hitter more often, as he finished with -5 DRS and -4 OAA over 335 1/3 innings in the outfield.
Reynolds (6 DRS, -3 OAA) and Valdez (-6 DRS, 2 OAA) were a bit of a mixed bag in terms of their defensive metrics, though the same can't be said for Cruz in center field (-7 DRS, -1 OAA).
Even Mangum was more of a middle-of-the-road defender (1 DRS, -1 OAA) after having 3 DRS and 6 OAA for the Rays in 2025.
Finding a defensive-minded fourth or fifth outfielder is a need for the Pirates, even if it isn't overly pressing, and it's something the organization should be able to accomplish rather easily.
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