2024 Pittsburgh Pirates

2024 Pittsburgh Pirates / Franchise: Pittsburgh Pirates / BR Team Page

Record: 76-86, Finished 5th in NL Central Division (2024 NL)

Managed by Derek Shelton

Coaches: Tarrik Brock, Radley Haddad, Andy Haines, Don Kelly, Mendy Lopez, Oscar Marin, Christian Marrero, Justin Meccage and Mike Rabelo

Ballpark: PNC Park

History, Comments, Contributions

The 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates were coming off a 2023 season in which they had made a fair bit of progress from 2022, but there was still quite a ways to go and many questions remaining. How would Oneil Cruz, one of the game's most intriguing young players, perform after missing almost all of '23? Would former #1 overall pick Henry Davis be ready to catch - and hit - in the majors? Or would their alternate pick-up, Yasmani Grandal, show that his best years were not behind him? Who would fill the second base spot that was fought over in 2023, with many of the same contenders back (Liover Peguero, Nick Gonzales, Ji-hwan Bae and Jared Triolo)? Would free agent signee Rowdy Tellez provide the power he showed in 2022 or struggle like he had in '23? Would fellow offseason acquisition Edward Olivares or Josh Palacios start in right field?

The rest of the offense seemed somewhat more set. 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes seemed to be coming off a breakthrough year at the plate in addition to finally winning a much-anticipated Gold Glove. DH Andrew McCutchen and LF Bryan Reynolds, two of the team's veteran leaders, had still hit well in 2023 and there was hope they could keep it up, while CF Jack Suwinski was still young and coming off a very good season. Connor Joe was expected to be a solid bench presence at first base and in the outfield.

The starting rotation was also loaded with questions after Johan Oviedo was sidelined with an injury. It was expected that free agent signees Marco Gonzales and Martín Pérez would complement ace Mitch Keller (assuming he kept his 2023 form and did not regress), but the 4th and 5th spots were open entering spring training with young hurlers Roansy Contreras, Luis Ortiz and Quinn Priester trying to bounce back from disappointing showings, and fellow youngsters Jared Jones and Paul Skenes possibly looming as options as well as veterans Chase Anderson and Bailey Falter; also, J.T. Brubaker was to return at some point from Tommy John surgery.

The bullpen seemed more reliable, with returning All-Star closer David Bednar and a cast of relievers who had fine 2023 seasons (Colin Holderman, Carmen Mlodzinski, Ryan Borucki) plus high-price signee Aroldis Chapman, still one of the game's hardest throwers, and still dominant at times.

Late in spring training, the team shook up the outfield picture by signing Michael A. Taylor to start in center, moving Suwinski to the corner alongside Reynolds and knocking Oliveras and Palacios from starting contention. Davis wound up winning the starting spot at catcher and Triolo the one at second base, while Jones and Falter got the final two rotation spots, Ortiz and Contreras being kept on as relievers with injuries to Holderman and Mlodzinski creating openings in the bullpen.

The Bucs won, 6-5, in 12 innings on Opening Day against the Miami Marlins on March 28th as Reynolds, Oliveras and Cruz all homered and the bullpen allowed one hit in 6 1/3 IP. Ortiz got the win and late addition José Hernández saving it; he was only called up when Contreras went on the paternity leave list. They swept the four-game opening series, their first four-game road sweep to start the season since 1903. They then won two of three games against the Washington Nationals, also on the road to head to Pittsburgh for their home opener on April 5th with a record of 6-1. Suddenly, media outside Pittsburgh were starting to take notice. The Opener was scheduled for a 4:12 pm start, a nod to the city's area code of 412, and something that was becoming a tradition for the Bucs. That hot start quickly faded as they were 14-17 at the end of April, with the starting pitching better than expected but the bullpen disappointing significantly, especially Bednar and Chapman.

They were 12-14 in May, with Bednar turning it around but the bullpen still struggling; while Pérez and Marco Gonzales were now injured, the starters were still doing very well as Skenes had been called up to complement Jones, Keller and a surprisingly effective Falter. While Hayes battled injury and Cruz inconsistency, the team had seemingly solved the 2B situation with Nick Gonzales though Tellez was providing almost no punch at first base and the catching quintet they had tried was barely over the Mendoza Line.

The Bucs had a winning June at 16-14 and were close to the Wild Card race, though still under .500; the fan base and media were clamoring that they trade away prospects for short-term help for a playoff push even though the last such deal (Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows and Shane Baz for Chris Archer) had been a terrible one. In June, the pitching of Skenes, Keller, Jones and co. really carried the team as only Reynolds and Tellez (finally hitting) provided much hitting. Winning their last four games before the All-Star break, they reached the Midsummer Classic point at 48-48, 1 1/2 games out of the wild card. They had allowed the 6th-fewest runs in the league thanks to the fine work of Skenes (6-0, 1.90, .92 WHIP, 89 K in 66 1/3 IP, the first Pirate pitcher picked to start the All-Star Game since Jerry Reuss in 1975), Keller (10-5, 3.46, 105 K), Jones (5-6, 3.56, 98 K in 91 IP), Ortiz (4-2, Sv, 2.84), Holderman (3-1, 1.77), Kyle Nicolas (1-2, 3.68) and Mlodzinski (1-3, 3.38) while Bednar (3-3, 17 Sv, 5.01) and Chapman (1-4, 4 Sv, 4.15) had both improved on their slow starts and Falter (4-7, 4.08) and Priester (2-5, 4.54) were doing okay. On the other hand, the offense was only 12th in the NL in runs and next-to-last in OPS. Reynolds had won his second All-Star nod by hitting .284/.347/.487 (134 OPS+) with 18 HR to that point, while Cruz (.246/.299/.438, 14 HR, 107 OPS+) and Nick Gonzales (.265/.305/.409, 101 OPS+) were hitting just fine for middle infielders. Joe (.242/.330/.390, 104 OPS+) had slipped from his hot start but Tellez (.243/.297/.383, 92 OPS+) had a hot month and a half to make up somewhat. McCutchen was at .226/.328/.387 for a 103 OPS+, one of their five regular hitters over 100 only. Hayes (.244/.297/.311, 74 OPS+), Triolo (.205/.279/.276, 59 OPS+), Taylor (.203/.258/.279, 53 OPS+) and Suwinski (.174/.259/.319, 63 OPS+) were all very disappointing, though at least Hayes and Taylor were providing strong defense. Bart was hitting well when healthy at .236/.330/.472 (125 OPS+), a far contrast to their other backstops.

At the trading deadline, the Bucs were neither major buyers or sellers. They parted with Priester, Pérez and a few lesser-grade prospects (between 15 and 20 in prospect ratings) while picking up Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Jalen Beeks and Bryan De La Cruz to bolster their present team (especially on offense) and Boston Red Sox top-10 prospect Nick Yorke. August was terrible, though. A ten-game losing streak was part of an 8-19 month that sent them from the possibility of a wild card spot to last place. The bullpen blew numerous games, posting the worst ERA of any team in August as Holderman and Bednar both imploded (and others did not fare well either). The starting pitching regressed but was still okay and the offense had some good days but remained weak overall.

Awards and Honors

• All-Stars: Bryan Reynolds and Paul Skenes
• NL Gold Glove: Jared Triolo (UT)
• MLB All-Rookie Team: Paul Skenes (SP)

Further Reading

• Alex Stumpf: "The new Pirates tradition: A 4:12 first pitch in the 412", mlb.com, April 5, 2024. [The new Pirates tradition: A 4:12 first pitch in the 412]
• Joe Trezza: "'Gritty' Bucs battle to their first 5-0 start since 1983", mlb.com, April 2, 2024. [1]
• Joe Trezza: "Why Bucs have started ’24 as one of baseball’s hottest teams", mlb.com, April 4, 2024. [2]

2024 MLB season by team