Demilio: Top 3 Pirates Takeaways from the 2024 Season

This is the second in a series of columns breaking down Pittsburgh Baseball Now‘s takeaways from another Pirates’ season gone by.

After showing promise through through most of July, the Pittsburgh Pirates ended the 2024 season in an all too familiar place.

The Pirates were in contention for a wild card spot as far into the season as the beginning of August before a destructive 10-game losing streak. In the end, the Pirates finished with an identical 76-86 record that they had last season and wound up in the basement of the National League Central.

It marked the fourth time in five seasons that the Pirates finished in last place in the division under the current regime and the sixth-consecutive losing season since going 82-79 in 2018.

There were plenty of encouraging signs from the Pirates’ season, notably rookie sensation Paul Skenes emerging as one of the league’s best to anchor a strong starting rotation. But in the end, the bad far outweighed the good.

Biggest Strength? Actually, Biggest Weakness

At the start of spring training, it looked like the Pirates’ bullpen was going to be what carried the club towards Pittsburgh’s first playoff appearance since 2015.

The Pirates returned two-time All-Star David Bednar to handle the ninth inning. He was supposed to be joined by the likes of Colin Holderman, Dauri Moreta, Ryan Borucki, Carmen Mldozinski and veteran Aroldis Chapman, who was signed as a free agent in the winter.

As is often the case, things didn’t go to plan.

Moreta had a premature exit in a spring training appearance and the result was the dreaded Tommy John surgery. Mlodsinki began the season on the injured list. Borucki joined both players on the IL shortly thereafter and missed the majority of the season.

Chapman was a bit inconsistent at times but ended up being one of the Pirates’ most reliable reliever down the stretch. Holderman couldn’t have started the year better but had a 5.84 ERA over his final 27 appearances.

But the biggest blow to the Pirates’ bullpen was Bednar’s season-long struggles. The soon-to-be 30-year-old emerged as one of the league’s top relief arms the past three seasons but finished with an ugly 5.77 ERA and blew seven saves in 30 chances. The Pirates removed him from the closer role late in the season.

What once looked like a promising area of the team is now a big area of concern. There is work to be done in the bullpen this offseason.

Joey Bart Emerges as No. 1 Catcher

One of the bright spots for the Pirates this season was the emergence of Bart after he was acquired from the San Francisco Giants in April.

The 2018 second-overall pick never lived up to his lofty expectations with the Giants but emerged as a legitimate option behind the plate for the Pirates and appears to be the main catcher headed into the 2025 season.

In 80 games after the trade, Bart slashed .265/.337/.462 and set career-highs in doubles (11), home runs (13) and RBIs (35). Among catchers with at least 250 plate appearances, Bart ranked fifth in MLB with a .799 OPS.

While Bart’s development is undoubtedly a good thing for the Pirates, it creates an interesting dilemma.

Former top prospect Endy Rodríguez, who made his debut last season, underwent Tommy John surgery and didn’t play until a brief minor league rehab assignment very late in the season. He will, however, be back in the fold next season.

The Pirates will have to get creative about how they split time between Bart and Rodríguez — not to mention Henry Davis — assuming all three remain with the club for the start of 2025. Healthy depth is a good problem to have.

Ultimately, Pirates Waste Start of Window Opening

Whether they admit it or not, the Pirates window to compete is open. It opened the day Skenes made his Major League debut on May 11 against the Chicago Cubs. The rookie’s success was a big reason why the Pirates were in the playoff mix as far into the season as they were.

The Pirates’ window will remain open as long as Skenes remains in a Pirates’ uniform, which very likely won’t go beyond his final year of arbitration-eligibility due to his skyrocketing price tag.

This year, the Pirates were fortunate enough to have Skenes healthy all season long, which is no guarantee considering the alarming rates of pitcher injuries around the league. Not to mention, fellow starter Mitch Keller also made it through the season, even though he struggled in the second half.

The Pirates could have tried to make more impactful trade deadline acquisitions and really pushed for the postseason had it not been for budget constraints, as well as other factors regarding the logistics of making trades.

Though the Pirates will still have Skenes around for at least the majority of this decade, there should be heightened urgency to significantly improve the team this offseason and capitalize on the gift they were given when they landed the top pick in the lottery for the 2023 draft.

Owner Bob Nutting should go out of his comfort zone and spend meaningful dollars this winter. But based on precedent, and plenty of it, that doesn’t look very likely.

On Monday, Griffin Floyd gave his three Pirates takeaways from the 2024 season.