Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2025 New Year’s Resolutions

The start of a new year is just about upon us, and with a new year comes resolutions.

Whether it’s starting a diet, joining a gym, saving money or pursuing some type of personal goal, the start of a new year represents hope that welcomed change will take place.

Sometimes, the goals set on New Year’s Eve come to fruition and make it all the way through the year and beyond. But other times, New Year’s resolutions don’t make it out of January.

With the start of 2025 just two days away, it’s time to finalize those New Year’s resolutions. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, they should have a lengthy list on the eve of New Year’s Eve.

Here are a few for the Pirates to consider.

1. Break Precedent

So far this offseason, the Pirates’ roster additions have been marginal. Spencer Horwitz brings some upside and could potentially be a long-term answer at first base. Veteran Andrew McCutchen is back to DH once again. Reliver Peter Strzelecki and infielder Enmanuel Valdez improved the Pirates’ depth.

But there’s a long way to go if the Pirates are serious about reaching the postseason for the first time since 2015. The lineup needs help. Adding an outfielder should be priority No. 1 for general manager Ben Cherington. The bullpen also needs at least one arm –preferably two — with at least one left-handed option getting added to the mix.

For once, the Pirates need to get serious in the free agent and trade market. This is not year six of a rebuild coming up. There should be no such thing as six years of a rebuild. The Pirates should be competing for a postseason spot this year, but in order for that to happen, meaningful additions need to be made. Don’t be scared to spend money in free agency. Don’t shy away from trading promising young assets to acquire players to help the big-league club. Break those bad habits.

2. Don’t Waste Another Year of Paul Skenes

For the first time, perhaps in franchise history, the Pittsburgh Pirates have arguably the top pitcher in Major League Baseball.

Paul Skenes’ sensational first season resulted in the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year award and a third-place finish in the Cy Young race.

Skenes is as dominant as a pitcher can be, and the Pirates have the luxury of having him lead their starting rotation through the 2029 season. While that may seem like a long time, it really isn’t. And given his talent, his price tag will soar once he hits arbitration.

Take advantage of this opportunity. Skenes pitching twice in a playoff series? That’s as close as you can get to two guaranteed wins come postseason play.

Heck, what’s stopping the Pirates from offering him an eight-year, $220 million contract right now? Or even more? We all know the answer. But the fact of the matter is that you have Skenes on your team right now. Make it count.

3. Revamp Organizational Hitting Philosophy

While Skenes is an example of the Pirates’ ability to develop pitching, the same can’t be said about the organization’s ability to develop offense.

Since Cherington and the new regime took over prior to the 2020 season, the Pirates’ offense has annually been towards the bottom of the league.

The Pirates made a good first step in parting ways with Andy Haines at the end of this past season. While the jury is still out on new hitting coach Matt Hague, a new voice to lead the hitting group was clearly needed.

But the hitting issues go well beyond the big-league level. The Pirates have spent a handful of high draft picks on position players. Nick Gonzales has showed some promise in the big leagues. Henry Davis has yet to. Termarr Johnson has shown flashes but hasn’t yet lived up to the hype that made him the fourth pick in 2022. Other top prospects have struggled too.

The bottom line is the Pittsburgh Pirates need to see better results from their position players up and down the organization.

4. More Accountability

Things haven’t gone well for the Pirates lately. And by lately, I mean the better part of the last 30-plus years. Because of that. it’s okay to hold people accountable.

Whether it’s players, coaches, front office executives, etc., the Pirates need more accountability.

There have been a handful of on-field flubs that have been dismissed over the last couple years. I get wanting to have a good relationship between players and coaches, but the strongest relationships are those where you can hold one another accountable.

We’ll see much accountability there is in 2025. It’s not often a general manager or manager returns for a sixth season after five losing years in today’s age. The pressure is mounting on Cherington and Derek Shelton to build a winner this year.

5. Build a Product Pirates’ Fans Can Be Proud of

The final resolution is essentially a summary of the first four points.

Pirates’ fans deserve a winner. There are young fans who are turning 10 years old this year don’t know what playoff baseball in Pittsburgh is like. Fans born in 1980 haven’t been alive to see the Pirates win a playoff series. I’m turning 27 in March. During my lifetime, the Pirates have had four winnings seasons. The Penguins have been to as many Stanley Cups (and won three of them) as the Pirates have had winning seasons during that time.

The baseball world saw how electric of an atmosphere Pittsburgh provides in the 2013 Wild Card game against the Cincinnati Reds. The fans who have stuck by this team through all the losing deserve to show that off once again.

So here’s to hoping the Pittsburgh Pirates stick to these New Year’s resolutions throughout the upcoming year.

Wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2025!