Pirates GM Ben Cherington discussed his own future along with many other topics as part of a season wrap-up interview with reporters (including the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Kevin Gorman and MLB.com’s Aiden Stephansky) on Saturday. In regards to his status, Cherington said he expects to return for his eighth year in charge in the Bucs’ front office, as owner Bob Nutting hasn’t given Cherington any indication otherwise.
“Every conversation I’ve had with Bob is just about that. ‘How do we keep getting better?’ ‘How do we assess this season when we need to learn from it?’ The progress, the things that need to get better and what can we do about that going forward,” Cherington said. “Everything we’ve done, really over time, is building toward October, and every decision we’ve made — and certainly every decision we made over the last 12 months — was all aimed towards that. I don’t think that changes. That can’t change. We got to go into this offseason focused on that and beat the other teams.”
While only Nutting knows exactly how safe Cherington’s job truly is, the GM is under contract through the end of the 2027 campaign, and it would be a little unusual to see Cherington fired after the Pirates’ best season of his tenure. The 81-79 Pirates can clinch a winning record by beating the Tigers today or tomorrow, which would mark the franchise’s first time over the .500 mark since their 82-win season in 2018. Pittsburgh went 76-86 in both 2023 and 2024, which was the previous highwater mark of the seven-year Cherington rebuild era.
While “we made real progress” in 2026, Cherington said the lack of postseason play is a disappointment. Returning to contention is the team’s ultimate goal, and “I do believe that the seeds of that are being laid. You see that in the culture that’s being set, see that in the core of this roster that’s developing and the strength you can see across the roster. Clearly, there’s more really important work to do, and we’ve got to stay laser-focused on that.”
Some lower-level front office changes could come in the form of promotions or hirings, and Cherington said Pittsburgh is aiming to hire a full-time scouting director. The position has been essentially open since Justin Horowitz was hired as the Nationals’ assistant GM last October, with Pirates assistant GM Kevan Graves overseeing the team’s 2026 draft.
Cherington also didn’t anticipate many or any changes to Don Kelly’s coaching staff, and praised Kelly as “clearly the right person to manage this team. He’s someone I love coming to work with every day. Our goals are the same: Do the work necessary to play games in October.” Kelly was promoted from bench coach to manager after Derek Shelton was fired in May 2025, and Kelly was then signed to a contract extension of an unknown length at season’s end. In Kelly’s first stint as a Major League manager, the Bucs are 140-144 heading into today’s action.
The 2025-26 offseason saw the Pirates boost their Opening Day payroll to roughly $104.8MM, the largest in Nutting’s 20 years of ownership. Upgrading the offense was the chief focus of Pittsburgh’s winter work, and apart from the misguided Marcell Ozuna signing, the team’s goal was largely a success. Newcomers Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn hit well, and bounce-back years from Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds helped turn the Pirates’ moribund lineup into a top-10 offense in most categories.
Unfortunately, just as the lineup took a big step forward, the pitching staff (almost to a man) took a step backwards. Cherington said that run prevention is a top goal of the coming offseason, whether that means adding pitching or upgrading the Pirates’ subpar defense.
The GM also confirmed an interest in re-signing Lowe, after the second baseman said last week that there was mutual interest in a new contract between the two sides. The Bucs have yet to make Lowe an offer, but free agency doesn’t open until five days after the World Series. There’s still time for the Pirates to at least float something in Lowe’s direction, even if the second baseman is very likely to test the open market for the first time in his career.
Retaining Lowe would likely mean continuing to spend beyond Nutting’s usual comfort zone, but it is possible the Pirates might have some special flexibility given his impact on the 2026 club. Lowe has “been everything we could’ve hoped for as a player and also in the clubhouse,” Cherington said, adding that “it would be a great outcome if he’s a Pirate next year. We’ll have some things to talk about and plenty of time in October to have more conversations about that. We just need to learn more about what opportunities that are out there for us and he’s put himself in a strong position, too.”
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