With pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training this week, the off-season has wrapped up in baseball. This winter was by far the best off-season of the Ben Cherington era, with many Pirates fans calling it the ‘Winter of Ben.’
They started off hot by making two under-the-radar moves, signing reliever Gregory Soto and traded for Jhostynxon Garcia. Soto will be a huge part of the bullpen, being a flame-throwing lefty. Garcia will fight for a spot on the opening day roster, but he was a Top 100 prospect in all of baseball in 2025, so he has a lot of potential.
The team did not stop there, though, as they traded for Brandon Lowe and two others, along with signing Ryan O’Hearn. Lowe and O’Hearn were both all-stars in 2025, and will be the two best hitters in the lineup.
Outfielder Jake Mangum and reliever Mason Montgomery also came from Tampa and will play a part in the team. Mangum is a speedy guy who gets on base, he will be this year’s Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Montgomery will also be a decent bullpen arm, a lot like Soto.
Many fans thought they would be done after these moves, but they were not. With Jared Jones starting the year on the IL, they brought in Jose Urquidy to be part of the pitching staff. After Urquidy, they brought in veteran Marcell Ozuna to be the DH.
Many fans were surprised about Ozuna, as O’Hearn was thought to be the DH. O’Hearn most likely will be at first base, and Spencer Horwitz will move around the infield. Horwitz played a few games at second last season, but could also see some playing time at third.
That leaves Jared Triolo and Nick Gonzales. They will most likely battle out the starting shortstop job in spring training, but Triolo will still get playing time at third. The number one prospect in baseball, Konnor Griffin, is in the conversation for making the MLB team, but he probably will start in Altoona or Indy due to him still being a teenager.
This team is better than it has been in a while. Is it a World Series team? No, but it could be a wild card team if everything goes right.
