The Pirates have suddenly gotten hot, winning their fifth game in their last six yesterday, and they’ve done it by being dominant on the pitching mound. Joe Block has the story.
The Bucs play the first of three at San Francisco tonight, with Mitch Keller (4-10, 3.53 ERA) scheduled to start against Carson Whisenhunt, who will be making his Major League debut. It’s a 9:20 start for the pregame on WCCS, with first pitch at 9:45.
General manager Ben Cherington spoke to reporters before the game yesterday and said he’s approaching this week’s trade deadline with the mindset that the Pirates are going to have to “assume risk.” That, he said, can come with a downside. Cherington has plenty of trade chips, with a number of players on expiring contracts and some other high-value players with club control, chief among them Mitch Keller and David Bednar.
On The Ben Cherington Show on WCCS, the GM emphasized that he wants to win as soon as possible. Cherington says it won’t be an easy week, but he knows what needs to be done.
Cherington says his eye is squarely on putting a winning team on the field in 2026.
One player Cherington will resist trading is Konnor Griffin, last year’s top draft pick who last week was elevated to MLB Pipeline’s number one ranking among all of baseball’s prospects. Cherington says Griffin is a special ballplayer. (Griffin had two more hits yesterday for Greensboro.)
Cherington says the Pirates continue to see the talents of Oneil Cruz begin to blossom, on offense, defense, and on the basepaths, three elements that were on full display in yesterday’s game.
The MLB trade deadline is Thursday at 6 PM.
In Cooperstown, New York, David Parker II spoke on behalf of his father yesterday as “The Cobra” was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He said his dad will always be a Pittsburgh Pirate.
Parker was inducted along with the late Dick Allen, and Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner.
