Pirates Q&A: Damning USA Today Report, Possible Pitcher-for-Hitter Trade (+)
The Don Kelly era got underway this weekend and the Pittsburgh Pirates took two out of three games from the Atlanta Braves under his leadership.
Kelly was promoted from bench coach after it was announced on Thursday that Derek Shelton had been relieved of his duties after five-plus seasons as manager.
There was a little bit of everything during Kelly’s first series. He won in his managerial debut on Friday night and was ejected in his second game on Saturday. The Pirates then blew a three-run lead but walked-off the Braves on Mother’s Day.
After their series win, the Pirates are 14-27 and still in last place in the division. Though the Shelton/Kelly news dominated the headlines, there is plenty more to get into.
Time to answer your questions.
Do we ever see a cap in MLB? It has worked for NFL and NBA. – Jason Williams
The current CBA expired on Dec. 1, 2026, and this is without doubt the hottest issue — especially for Pirates’ fans.
My initial thought is that there won’t be a salary cap in baseball, at least not yet, and especially not one without a floor. The players will be against a cap — even if it will benefit a larger percentage of them. Some owners won’t want a floor, but a floor seems likelier than a cap. That would at least be a start in the right direction.
Regardless of whether or not there’s a cap or floor in place, the league needs to do something to level the playing field. Payrolls don’t win championships, but it certainly helps. No other sport is set up that way, as you mentioned. Something HAS TO be done.
More of a statement than a question, they’ve got to trade some pitching and find a legit bat. – Dean Wagner Jr.
Agreed, Dean. It makes too much sense.
The Pirates are rich in starting pitching depth. In the big leagues, they have Paul Skenes (not getting traded — yet), Mitch Keller, Bailey Falter, Andrew Heaney and I guess Carmen Mldozinski. Plus Jared Jones and Johan Oviedo, who are both on the IL.
They also have a handful of well-regarded prospects including Bubba Chandler (untouchable), Thomas Harrington, Braxton Ashcraft, Hunter Barco, Mike Burrows and more.
The Pirates are perfect trade partners with the Orioles, who are in the exact opposite situation. They seriously lack pitching, which is a huge reason why they’ve perhaps been the league’s most disappointing team this season. But they are rich in young position players. A swap makes all the sense in the world.
If not the Orioles, there would be other teams looking to tap into the Pirates’ pitching depth.
Why is Tommy Pham still on this team? – Stranded Martian
GM Ben Cherington has lauded Pham’s leadership’s skills. Shelton did the same when he was here. Not sure what Kelly’s thoughts are, to be quite honest, but I guess we’ll find out the longer he’s in charge.
The Pirates brought Pham in to help the lineup. So far, that hasn’t happened. Pham is hitting just .176 with a .475 OPS. That’s not going to cut it. But he’s been excellent defensively to at least salvage some of his value. And it’s the main thing saving his roster spot right now.
Why is he still here? Partially his defense. Partially his leadership. Part of it is the Pirates paid him $4 million this offseason, which by their standards, is not insignificant. They’re hoping he can show some life offensively, but it might be time to cut down on his at-bats — if there was a suitable alternative, that is.
Any comments on Bob Nightengale report of the Pirates stashing money intended for salaries? – David Stover
For those who haven’t seen it, Bob Nightengale of USA Today wrote about the Pirates being one of the most profitable teams in baseball, citing information from the player’s union and some other owners.
Here’s what he said:
“The Pittsburgh Pirates, according to information received by the players union and confirmed by several owners, are one of the most profitable teams in all of baseball, stashing a huge chunk of their revenue sharing monies instead of investing in their team year after year.”
This is incredibly alarming and yet another terrible look for owner Bob Nutting and the Pirates, who have had seemingly never-ending bad publicity this season. The information coming from the union means there is no reason to believe it isn’t true, and it needs to change. Fast.
When is Bob selling the team? – Buster J. Tominack
The easy answer — he won’t. Why? See the previous question and answer. He’s set up a great revenue stream.
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