Pirates All 40: Thomas Harrington Needs Bounce Back Season as Important Depth Piece
This is one in a series breaking down players on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 40-man roster.
The Pirates have already traded two starting pitchers this offseason. They sent Johan Oviedo to the Boston Red Sox as part of a five-player trade and traded Mike Burrows to the Houston Astros in a three-team deal involving the Tampa Bay Rays.
Pittsburgh has been able to dip into their starting pitching depth because they have an abundance of young arms. But with a pair of those players already getting dealt, the options the Pirates have in house become even more important.
Among the players the Pirates have as options for their starting rotation is Thomas Harrington, who made his MLB debut in 2025. It was a rough first go for the 24-year-old, who made three appearances and allowed 15 runs on 18 hits in 8.2 innings. He recorded his first save against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 7.
In fact, it was a rough season overall for Harrington, who entered the season as a consensus top 100 prospect. In 21 appearances with Triple-A Indianapolis, the right-hander went 7-9 with a 5.34 ERA. Home runs, which had not been an issue for him entering the season, proved to be his Achilles heel. In 104.2 innings between Pittsburgh and Indianapolis, Harrington surrendered 23 homers.
Harrington’s 5.34 ERA was more than double what he finished the 2024 season with. He split most of the ’24 season between Double-A Altoona and Indianapolis and combined to go 7-3 with a 2.61 ERA with only nine home runs allowed, 19 walks and 115 strikeouts in 117.1 innings.
Command has always been one of Harrington’s greatest strengths as a prospect, but it was evident in his brief showing in the big leagues that he lacked a true out pitch to put batters away with two strikes. Overall, he wasn’t as sharp in 2025 as he had been in past seasons.
Given that the Pirates’ starting pitching depth has taken a couple hits this offseason, and even after assuming they add a veteran starting pitcher to shore things up, it’s safe to say they will have to rely on Harrington at some point during the 2026 season.
But if Harrington again struggles as he did in 2025, he may be overlooked by some other options who give the Pirates a better chance.
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