Pirates by Position: Infield adds 2 All-Stars, but will Konnor Griffin start season at shortstop?
The Pittsburgh Pirates opened last season with a pair of Gold Glove winners on the left side of the infield in shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa and third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and question marks on the right side. This spring, their lineup could feature a pair of All-Stars in first baseman Ryan...
Pirates by Position: Endy Rodriguez, Rafael Flores look to fit in at catcher
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting lineup included Endy Rodriguez on Opening Day and Rafael Flores in the season finale, but the 25-year-olds will start spring training wondering where they fit into the roster. Although both are catchers who can play first base, the majority of their major-league starts came at the...
Led by top prospect Konnor Griffin, Pirates boast Baseball America’s No. 1 farm system
Boosted by shortstop Konnor Griffin, baseball’s No. 1 prospect, the Pittsburgh Pirates can claim the sport’s top farm system according to Baseball America rankings released Wednesday. The Pirates boast four of Baseball America’s top 100 prospects: Griffin, right-handed pitcher Bubba Chandler (No. 15), outfielder Edward Florentino (No. 28) and right-hander...
Pirates add 6 non-roster invitees to big league camp
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced an additional six players will attend big league camp as non-roster invitees. Catcher Derek Berg, first baseman Nick Cimillo, right-handed pitcher Michael Darrell-Hicks, left-handed pitcher Nick Dombkowski, outfielder/infielder Mitch Jebb and infielder Alika Williams were invited to camp, which opens Feb. 16 at Pirate City in...
Pirates by position: Bullpen boosted by addition of a pair of flamethrowing lefties
The Pittsburgh Pirates knew the Tampa Bay Rays had a left-handed reliever with a reputation for his impressive velocity but didn’t know much more about him. After throwing 15 of his 16 pitches for strikes — touching triple digits on a handful, including a 102.2 four-seamer against Joey Bart —...
Mark Madden: Zero chance Will Howard starts for the Steelers and more sports notes
Like the snowflakes that clog your driveway, no two refreshing sports notes are exactly alike! I also use a shovel. • Will Howard will not start at quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Zero chance. He’s a sixth-round pick with all the attached limitations. When new coach Mike McCarthy praises Howard,...
Pirates by Position: Paul Skenes anchors starting rotation expecting battle at back end
The Pittsburgh Pirates opened their offseason on the premise that they had a solid foundation with their starting pitching, one that was deep enough to allow them to address their offensive inefficiencies. With a rotation anchored by 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes and featuring former All-Star...
Joe Starkey’s Cup of Joe: The Pirates whiffed on Eugenio Suarez
Cup of Joe: Starkey on sports in 350 words or less The Pirates had the second-most strikeouts in the National League last season. They whiffed 1,422 times. Add one more. Bob Nutting and Ben Cherington watched a fastball go right down the middle. The Pirates desperately need a third baseman....
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Pirates ace Paul Skenes has something up sleeve with ‘sleeper’
When MLB Network ranked its “Top 10 Starting Pitchers Right Now” on Wednesday night, the biggest revelation involved Paul Skenes, but it wasn’t that the Pittsburgh Pirates ace didn’t rank at the top of the list. Skenes has something up his sleeve in the form of a new pitch. That...
Pirates’ Spencer Horwitz excited to have more offensive firepower in lineup
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ returning players have shared their excitement regarding how the club has navigated the offseason, acquiring a multitude of proven big-leaguers. First baseman Ryan O’Hearn, second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and relievers Mason Montgomery and Gregory Soto should help the club immediately in 2026. Spencer Horwitz,...
Building a consensus: Pirates abuzz about Konnor Griffin being baseball’s No. 1 prospect
Some of the biggest buzz for the Pittsburgh Pirates surrounded a shortstop who was neither in attendance at PiratesFest nor has played a game yet in the major leagues but is being billed as a future superstar. Konnor Griffin became baseball’s consensus No. 1 prospect entering the 2026 season when...
Joe Starkey’s Cup of Joe: The Pirates owe Andrew McCutchen this much: Tell him they’re moving on
CUP OF JOE: Starkey on sports in 350 words or less. Breakups are hurtful, in life and pro sports. Feelings are injured. Resentments are formed. It wasn’t pretty when the Pittsburgh Steelers moved on from Troy Polamalu, Hines Ward and Ben Roethlisberger, who wanted to keep playing. Feelings were injured....
‘Rip the jersey off of me’: Free agent franchise icon Andrew McCutchen lashes out at Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates icon Andrew McCutchen publicly lashed out at his treatment from the franchise Saturday in a late-night social media post in response to comments by general manager Ben Cherington at PiratesFest regarding the free-agent designated hitter’s future. “There’s more work to do and I’m not done, no matter what...
‘A different level of energy’: Pirates fans express excitement amid aggressive offseason
As Travis Williams walked around the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the Pittsburgh Pirates president found fans to be just as passionate about the baseball club as ever. Just not as angry. A year after PiratesFest was met with protests from fans frustrated with team chairman Bob Nutting’s lack of...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Same as it ever was for Pirates, Steelers
It’s the time of the season for horse manure, to paraphrase The Zombies. Pirates players who braved the threat of severe winter weather to get to Saturday’s PiratesFest talked about having a different attitude. (Ex-Buc Dale Berra canceled his return when he found out it wasn’t that kind of blizzard.)...
Following bad season with a big chop, Oneil Cruz focuses on fulfilling potential for Pirates
Oneil Cruz had a black beanie pulled tight over his head, trying to conceal his biggest change of an ultra-important offseason for the Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder. The first thing Cruz did upon returning to his native Dominican Republic was to have his barber chop off the shoulder-length dreadlocks he...
Pirates announce schedule changes, player cancellations for PiratesFest due to weather
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that the anticipation of severe weather this weekend has impacted player appearances and caused a change in the schedule for Saturday’s annual fan festival at David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Among the players who canceled appearances at PiratesFest because of travel concerns are three new acquisitions...
Nick Gonzales switches to No. 3, as Pirates announce jersey numbers for newcomers
Nick Gonzales had misgivings about wearing No. 39 once Dave Parker was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman made his intentions clear to change his jersey number upon Parker’s death last summer. “It just meant a little more playing today with that number,”...
Baseball America ranks Konnor Griffin its No. 1 prospect, as 3 other Pirates make top 100 list
When Baseball America released its top 100 prospects list Wednesday, Konnor Griffin had only strengthened his status as the No. 1 prospect in the game with “an iron grip.” The 6-foot-4, 225-pound shortstop, who shined at three minor league levels, is one of three teenagers and four players in the...
PiratesFest shorter on star power, as Paul Skenes will miss fan event to accept Cy Young
Pittsburgh Pirates fans will get their first glimpse of the team’s newest additions — including former All-Stars Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn and Gregory Soto — but PiratesFest will be shorter on star power because of notable absences at the annual fan festival this weekend. That includes their biggest draw, as...
MLB Pipeline names Pirates’ Konnor Griffin No. 1 shortstop prospect, with ‘highest ceiling’
Given that Konnor Griffin is considered the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball, it’s no surprise that the 19-year-old Pittsburgh Pirates farmhand is ranked the top player at his position by MLB Pipeline. But Griffin’s potential for greatness was captured when he was graded at the top of nearly every...
Mark Madden: The Pirates could bring back Andrew McCutchen, but it’s OK to turn the page
The Pittsburgh Pirates traded for power-hitting second baseman Brandon Lowe and signed OK-hitting first baseman Ryan O’Hearn. But now have done nothing for a couple of weeks. They must figure that first place in the NL Central is wrapped up. It’s not. I’m assuming the Pirates just missed on Kyle...
On Sports: Former Steelers RB Najee Harris on Mike Tomlin’s advice; Andrew McCutchen blasts those doubting his defense
In Wednesday’s “On Sports,” we look at Najee Harris’ recollection of a telling conversation with former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. We also look at Andrew McCutchen’s defense of his defense, and a Pirates player who got married over the weekend. Plus there’s a Steelers anniversary, more on an NHL...
Kevin Gorman: In a Hall of Fame vote centered around center fielders, why Torii Hunter made my ballot
Call me a world-class procrastinator, if you will, or simply someone who performs better under deadline pressure, but I wait until the final day allowed to mail my Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. Baseball Writers Association of America voters are permitted to pick 10 players, so following the elections of...
Top prospect Konnor Griffin among 7 non-roster invitees to Pirates’ big-league camp
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Friday that Konnor Griffin, the consensus top prospect in baseball, is one of seven non-roster invitees who have been invited to major-league camp for spring training. The 19-year-old Griffin, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound shortstop/center fielder who was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft,...
