Pirates Q&A: Other Position Player Prospects Who Could Help, Futures of Cherington and Kelly
Welcome back to another edition of our Pittsburgh Pirates Q&A. Let’s get to your questions.
Is it possible/likely that BC is still here and will be here next year because word around the league is working under Nutting could be career suicide? What young front office type would take on this mess and possibly never get another chance when it goes sideways? – @RobShaffer14
There’s no doubt that there’s a stigma around the Pirates given the organization’s history over the last 30-plus years and the reputation of owner Bob Nutting.
Some options would probably be skeptical about taking the GM job with the Pirates. But at the same time, there are others who would embrace the challenge of looking to turn things around, and there are only 30 such jobs in the league. One benefit of becoming the team’s GM that has been made clear since Cherington took over? Job security.
There are some who would take the job, or at least have interest. Pittsburgh Baseball Now learned of one notable former general manager who expressed interest in the position if it became available but cannot release the name for confidentiality purposes.
Will the Pirates be able to hire anyone they want? Probably not, but there should still be better options. For example, Brewers GM Matt Arnold was the runner-up to Cherington in 2019. It’s more about making the right choice.
Besides Konnor Griffin, who is one position player prospect to be excited about that can help the team in 2026 or 2027? – @K_P_123
Griffin has received most of the attention, as he should. He’s the top prospect in baseball and just got promoted to Double-A Altoona. He’s flying through the ranks and could absolutely make his MLB debut next season.
In terms of position player prospects other than him who could impact next year’s team, the options are limited, which is troubling given how bad the big-league offense has been, but there are two that come to mind.
Catcher/first baseman Rafael Flores was acquired from the New York Yankees at the deadline for David Bednar and was assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis. It hasn’t been a great start, but Cherington said the Pirates were very high on him. The other is Termarr Johnson, who has been somewhat overlooked but a prospect I’m still higher on than most. No, he hasn’t turned into exactly what the Pirates were hoping for, but he’s having a solid season in Altoona.
Has anything happened with Don Kelly’s status for next season? Is there a chance he would decline being the permanent manager to go elsewhere? – KelSchroyer75
Kelly’s status likely coincides with Cherington’s. If the GM returns, Kelly is probably next year’s manager. If the Pirates bring in someone new, it will be up to whoever the new GM is to pick a manager, though Kelly would likely receive consideration.
Kelly is widely-respected across the game and could be under consideration for a number of job openings. But as a Pittsburgh-native, his first choice would be to remain here.
I know that they want to give Triolo and Suwinski a 100th shot but could you give the reasons WHY they keep giving them shots? They have defensive ability but they have a low average to prove that they stink. Why are they so hesitant on bringing up Cook and the like? – Jim
I would probably give some of those at-bats to other players as well, but I guess the Pirates are holding out hope that Triolo can emerge offensively and Suwinski can return to the player he was in 2023.
Billy Cook should be one player the Pirates consider giving some of those at-bats to during the home stretch of the season. Nick Yorke and Cam Devanney are too. Keeping the rentals through the deadline is another reason young guys aren’t getting looks. That was certainly a choice.
GMBC has overseen six years of failure and misery. The series against the Brewers was so painful because their GM was runner up to GMBC at the time. It now looks like Bob “gimme da money” Nutting isn’t going to get rid of him. How can we even begin to look forward to 2026 with this combo? – Tim Dixon
There is no reassuring answer to this question. The track records of both guys have been abysmal during their respective tenures.
The only way to get excited for next season is if the Pirates break from the norm and actually make a splash or two this winter. It’s clear the current product is nowhere near good enough despite a solid starting rotation headlined by perhaps the best pitcher in baseball.
Will that happen? Let me answer that question with another question. What evidence has there been to believe it will?
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