Pirates Position Group Breakdown: Can Bullpen Rebound After Disappointing ’24?

This is one in a series of breaking down the Pittsburgh Pirates position groups leading up to spring training. 

Entering last season, the thought was that the bullpen was going to be the strength of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

However, the bullpen fell well short of expectations and was one of the main reasons the Pirates finished in last place in the National League Central at 76-86 and missed out on the playoffs for a ninth-straight season.

Only three teams in baseball had a worse bullpen ERA than the Pirates’ 4.49. Those three teams were the last-place Colorado Rockies (5.41), the last-place Toronto Blue Jays (4.82) and the last-place Chicago White Sox (4.73).

Closer David Bednar entered the season as one of the premier relief pitchers in baseball but finished with a 5.77 ERA and blew seven of his 30 save opportunities. Eventually, he was replaced by veteran Aroldis Chapman as the club’s closer.

Colin Holderman had a sensational start to the season but a 5.84 ERA over his final 27 appearances and blew several leads that resulted in Pirates’ losses.

Inconsistencies from two of the Pirates’ top relievers trickled down to other arms as well, but there is some hope that the bullpen can have better results this season.

Prior to his 2024 struggles, Bednar was a two-time All-Star and had one of the better three-year runs of any relief pitcher in baseball since joining the Pirates for the 2021 season. He’ll look to prove that last year was just a fluke. Holderman, despite his inconsistency down the stretch, still finished with a 3.16 ERA.

The Pirates will also have a full season of Dennis Santana, who had a 2.44 ERA in 39 appearances after joining the team during the season.

Young relievers Carmen Mlodzinski and Kyle Nicolas will enter their third seasons as big-leaguers and showed they are capable of being effective. Mlodzinski posted a 3.38 ERA across 40 appearances and Nicolas had a 3.95 ERA with more strikeouts (55) than innings pitched (54.2).

The Pirates will also get a prominent arm from their 2023 bullpen. Though he won’t be ready for Opening day, Dauri Moreta will return from Tommy John surgery after missing the entire 2024 season. In his first year with the Pirates, Moreta went 5-2 with a 3.72 ERA/2.93 FIP.

But in order for the bullpen to show drastic improvement, they will need bounce-back seasons from a pair of free agent additions. The Pirates’ have shown an even larger reserved spending approach this offseason. Last winter, their marquee free agent signing was Chapman for $10.5 million.

This winter, the Pirates again had a need for left-handed relief pitching, so they signed Caleb Ferguson for $3 million and Tim Mayza for just over $1 million.

Ferguson split the 2024 season between the New York Yankees and Houston Astros and finished with a 4.64 ERA. For his career, he’s gone 19-13 with a 3.68 ERA in six seasons. Mayza, meanwhile, scuffled to a 6.33 ERA in 2024 but had an impressive 1.52 ERA in 2023.

A lot of internal improvement will be necessary, but the Pirates’ bullpen might have what it takes to redeem itself from last year’s letdown.