On June 9, the Pittsburgh Pirates were locked in a 2-2 ballgame with the Los Angeles Dodgers going into the seventh inning. Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh’s ace, had just finished his solid day, striking out seven batters through six innings. By the bottom of the seventh, the Pirates were losing 12-2.
Unfortunately for the Pirates, this catastrophic relief performance was not the first time the bullpen had collapsed.
Six days earlier, the Bucs led the Houston Astros 8-3 through the top of the seventh inning. They lost 11-9 after 8½ innings.
On May 15, Pittsburgh jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the third inning against the in-state rival Philadelphia Phillies. Starter Braxton Ashcraft left after 6⅔ innings with the Pirates up 8-3. The next pitch was a 2-run homer. Still, the Pirates led 8-5 going into the ninth inning. They lost 11-9 in 10.
Pittsburgh’s Bad News Bullpen
The Pirates’ bullpen is bad. There’s no other way to slice it. They’ve blown 15 saves, tied for the fourth most in the league. Their save percentage is 51.6%, the fourth lowest in MLB.
The Bucs’ bullpen boasts a 4.46 ERA on the year, 20th in the league. Lately, they’ve been even worse. So far this month, the pen has an ERA of 5.98, the fifth worst in MLB over that span.
It’s not that the pen is without talent. The current group is tied for 11th in Stuff+ and third in BotStuff. Stuff+ and BotStuff are different pitching sabermetrics that measure the overall ‘nastiness’ of a pitch by measuring its mere physical characteristics.
However, the issues arise with the group’s poor location. The Buccos’ active bullpen is tied for last in BotCommand and ranks second-to-last in Location+. Location+ and BotCommand are different pitching sabermetrics that measure the quality of a pitch’s location, given the count and pitch type.
These command issues have resulted in too many free bases, as the Pirates’ current bullpen has recorded the fourth-most walks per nine innings in the league at 4.43. Furthermore, the poor location has resulted in the unit ranking in the top 10 for HardHit%, despite top-end stuff.
Altogether, Pittsburgh’s active pen is in the bottom third of MLB in BotOverall, BotERA, and Pitching+, which are sabermetrics that measure the overall quality of pitching, factoring in location and stuff. BotERA essentially converts that quality into an expected ERA.
The numbers and the results tell the same story. The Bucs’ bullpen has been poor. Something has to change.
What’s the Way Forward for the Pirates?
For the first time in years, the Pirates are in June with a legit shot at the playoffs. They have a humming offense that has scored the fifth-most runs in the league while touting the fourth-highest OPS. Yet they still sit at fourth in the NL Central, due in large part to the failings of the bullpen. As a result, many have called for urgent action.
But what are their options?
Looking Inside the Club Hasn’t Helped
One option is for the Pirates to fix their bullpen woes with guys from the farm. Pittsburgh has tried this route multiple times this season.
Throughout the course of the season, Pittsburgh has called up Evan Sisk, Cam Sanders, Wilber Dotel, Chris Devenski, Brandan Bidois, and Antwone Kelly. They also recalled Isaac Mattson after moving him down and moved starter Carmen Mlodzinski to the bullpen upon the return of SP Jared Jones. Of these, Sisk, Bidois, Mattson, and Mlodzinski remain, while Dotel is on the IL.
Despite these moves, the Buccos’ bullpen has not improved. In fact, they’ve regressed. The Pirates’ pen had a middle-of-the-pack ERA in the league at 3.94 through their first 38 games. Through their last 37, they’ve had the fifth-worst ERA in MLB at 5.01.
Of the relievers Pittsburgh has not already called up and sent down, the best performers this past month in Triple-A Indianapolis have been Beau Burrows, Joe La Sorsa, Khristian Curtis, Michael Darrell-Hicks, and Derek Diamond.
Burrows and Darrell-Hicks have career major league ERAs of 10.70 and 7.45, respectively. In the majors, La Sorsa has a 5.34 career ERA and an 11.57 ERA since 2025.
Curtis and Diamond were called up to Indianapolis on June 9, and their perfect 0.00 ERAs are through only 5.2 and 4.0 innings, respectively. However, Diamond has been performing well all year, working all the way from the Florida Complex League to AAA and posting a 0.47 ERA through 19.0 innings.
Justin Meis and Brandon Neeck have been decent in Indy this year, with Neeck posting a 3.31 ERA and Meis a 3.82 ERA. Yet neither has been incredible the past month.
Cam Sanders and Antwone Kelly have been solid in AAA as well. However, Pittsburgh already called up and sent down Sanders and Kelly after poor results. With the Pirates this season, Sanders and Kelly posted ERAs of 9.00 and 7.71, respectively.
Indy to the Steel City
Everything considered, there are no slam-dunk options inside the club with which the Pirates can fix their bullpen. Giving Kelly another shot is their best bet, as his 7.71 ERA came through only one appearance, and his Pitching+ in it was an incredible 143, far above the average grade of 100. However, a recent poor performance in Indianapolis may set that back.
Meis or Neeck could join the pen if they show dominance for a period. Still, both they and Kelly are very unproven.
Burrows’, Darrell-Hicks’, and La Sorsa’s solid performances in AAA could merit a call-up as well. Nevertheless, what we’ve seen from them in the majors so far shouldn’t warrant any hope that they can fix the bullpen.
Curtis and Diamond are too inexperienced to call up yet, but the Pirates should monitor them. If they continue to perform well in Indianapolis, expect them to be in Pittsburgh later in the year.
Should Pirates Start Looking Outside to Fix Bullpen?
If the Pirates are to fix their bullpen woes, it’s evident that they cannot expect all the relief to come from within.
Several bullpen arms are expected to be available ahead of the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline. The most popular trade candidate is Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman. In his age-38 season, the lefty, nicknamed the Cuban Missile, boasts an incredible 0.83 ERA and 100% save percentage (14/14). Chapman would be a familiar face in Pittsburgh, as he pitched for the Bucs in 2024.
Other candidates include Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela, White Sox LHP Sean Newcomb, Mets LHP A.J. Minter, Reds LHP Brock Burke, Red Sox RHP Garrett Whitlock, Mets LHP Brooks Raley, Diamondbacks LHP A.J. Puk, Angels RHP Sam Bachman, and Marlins RHP Lake Bachar, among others.
Is Trading Worth the Tradeoff?
Unlike with the internal options, Pittsburgh can be fairly sure that any of these arms will improve the bullpen and add much-needed stability. Rather, cost is the question here.
Pittsburgh is 38-37 as it stands, and it’s unclear whether they should be buyers or sellers at the deadline. If they fail to have a good rest of June and July, it won’t make much sense for them to sell the farm to improve the bullpen. The catch is that, without any additions to the bullpen, it may be hard for the Pirates to stay afloat until the deadline, amidst a very tough National League and NL Central.
This reality makes it somewhat urgent for the Pirates to act now, but that route brings along further cost analysis. Trading for bullpen arms now is costlier than waiting until the deadline, while it is also less clear now whether the Pirates can be true postseason contenders. Additionally, trading for one reliever will not fix the bullpen. Thus, the Bucs would need to trade for multiple arms if they want to truly fix the bullpen, making this avenue even more costly.
Pittsburgh’s General Manager Ben Cherington will have to gauge whether it is worth it to mortgage the future for a chance to contend this year. The reality is, it very well may not be. Moreover, the longer he waits, the less likely it is that trades will be able to save the season.
The Solution Has to Come from Inside, Outside, and Luck
If the Pirates are to salvage the bullpen and, accordingly, the season, it will have to be a mix of help from inside and outside the club. And luck.
They’ll need guys like Kelly and, down the line, Curtis or Diamond to prove to be positive additions to the pen.
They’ll need the rest of the club to pick up some of the slack, through starters going longer and the offense scoring enough runs to cover the pen. Aside from a stretch of June, the offense has done a good job covering, even while battling injuries to key players such as Ryan O’Hearn, Konnor Griffin, and Oneil Cruz. However, the Bucs haven’t had a starter go seven innings in nearly a month.
If starters can go deeper and the Bucs’ bats can heat up even more after the return of Griffin and Cruz, the bullpen’s failings would be greatly minimized.
They’ll likely need some of the young high-stuff guys, such as Bidois and Sisk, to improve their command throughout the year, and they’ll need their better performers, like Gregory Soto, to be more consistent.
They’ll need to trade for guys like Chapman and Senzatela without selling the future.
And for all of this to happen, they’ll need a whole lot of luck.
The Pirates’ bullpen is not an easy fix. It very well may and probably will continue to drag down their season. Yet it’s not impossible that things improve. There’s some unrealized talent in the pen and in the farm. There are arms to be had at the deadline. Griffin and Cruz should return soon to boost the offense. The outlook isn’t promising, but it’s not hopeless.
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