Pirates/MLB category

Travis Williams smiled in the face of a steady rain before distributing Thanksgiving dinners Tuesday outside PNC Park, reiterating that the Pittsburgh Pirates have changed neither their expectations nor plans. Amid reports they are preparing to be spenders in free agency — linked to sluggers Josh Naylor, Kyle Schwarber and...

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes received a record $3,436,343 from this year’s pre-arbitration bonus pool, raising his two-year total to $5,588,400 under the initiative to direct more money to top younger players. A 23-year-old right-hander who debuted in May 2024, Skenes was a unanimous winner of this year’s NL Cy...

The Pittsburgh Pirates tendered major-league contracts Friday to five of their arbitration eligible players: outfielder Oneil Cruz, catcher Joey Bart and pitchers Dennis Santana, Johan Oviedo and Justin Lawrence. The other four players who were arbitration eligible — outfielders Alexander Canario and Ronny Simon and right-handed relievers Colin Holderman and...

ESPN’s Jeff Passan is one of MLB’s most respected journalists. But most of what he reported about the Pittsburgh Pirates this week is totally full of excrement. Passan knows better. But there’s so little content about a franchise as moribund as the Pirates, so he’ll take what’s leaked. Even if it’s...

Outfielder Jack Suwinski and right-handed reliever Yohan Ramirez were considered candidates to be non-tendered this offseason. Instead, the Pittsburgh Pirates avoided arbitration with both Thursday by signing them to contracts for the 2026 season. Suwinski was projected to make $1.7 million by MLBTradeRumors.com after batting .147/.281/.253 with seven doubles, three...

Robert Clemente Jr. remembers entering Three Rivers Stadium when he was 7, and spotting posters with a picture of his father. He walked directly toward one of the images behind the backstop of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ former home field on Pittsburgh’s North Shore. “I missed him so much that when...

The Pittsburgh Pirates overhauled their 40-man roster Tuesday to protect six prospects from the Rule 5 Draft, including the top slugger and reliever in their minor league system this season. The Pirates added right-handed reliever Brandan Bidois, infielder Jack Brannigan, right-handed starting pitchers Wilber Dotel and Antwone Kelly, lefty reliever...

The Pittsburgh Pirates hired Kristopher Negron as bench coach and Tony Beasley as third-base coach, according to a league source, rounding out the two key positions remaining on Don Kelly’s staff. Negron, 39, comes to the Pirates from the Seattle Mariners, where he was third-base coach last season after three...

As expected, Paul Skenes got the National League Cy Young Award on Wednesday. Was a unanimous selection to boot. What Skenes said after was embraced like the Sermon on the Mount by those dumb enough to be among the Pirates’ true believers. Skenes was asked about a report that he...

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes had a slightly more animated reaction to winning the National League Cy Young award Wednesday night than he did when he won the Rookie of the Year in 2024. Slightly. Paul Skenes winning Rookie of the Year: ????Paul Skenes winning Cy Young: ???? pic.twitter.com/hAymCO5Qxs—...

As Paul Skenes reflected on the historic season that resulted in winning the National League Cy Young Award, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ ace couldn’t help but look forward to the future. For someone who prefers to talk about the why, Skenes admits that awards and accolades are not his motivation. From...

On a day when Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington dismissed trade talk about his ace with the declaration that “Paul Skenes is going to be a Pirate in 2026,” he has some additional incentive: For the first time in 35 years, the Pirates now have a Cy Young Award...

As two dozen members of his family smiled with pride, the sign for Pete Hill Way was unveiled Monday afternoon amid fanfare at the corner of Hamilton and N. Lang Avenues in Homewood. They wore blue-and-gold jackets and hooded sweatshirts — the colors of Westinghouse High School — and celebrated...

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced changes to their 40-man roster Thursday, making room for five players who were activated from the 60-day injured list. Right-handed pitchers Dugan Darnell and Jared Jones, catcher/first baseman Endy Rodríguez, outfielder Ronny Simon and infielder Enmanuel Valdez were activated. To make room on the 40-man roster,...

PiratesFest will return to a single-day event at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Jan. 24, 2026. The fan event will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will include interactive games and attractions for all ages. Pirates players, alumni, coaches, broadcasters and mascots will be in...

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced their spring training schedule, which includes 16 of their 31 Grapefruit League games and the Spring Breakout prospect showcase at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla. The Pirates will open their spring schedule Feb. 21 against the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota before playing the Tampa Bay Rays...

Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass vividly recalls the efficiency with which he commanded his nine-pitch bottom of the ninth inning in Game 7 of the 1971 World Series in Baltimore. “It’s not hard to throw strikes when you’re (urinating) your pants,” Blass said. “I’m glad we had the gray...

MINNEAPOLIS — Derek Shelton spent the first couple of weeks after his firing by the Pittsburgh Pirates in his feelings, bitter about the dismissal just 38 games into his sixth season as manager and defiant about his ability to do the job well. That sudden free time turned out to...

If the Los Angeles Dodgers “ruined baseball” by winning the World Series, a heck of a lot of people witnessed them do it. Despite the alleged demise of the entire sport by way of L.A.’s appearance in — and eventually claiming of — the 2025 World Series, their Game 7...

Despite finishing with a .500 record, Paul Skenes is considered the consensus favorite to win the National League Cy Young Award. The Pittsburgh Pirates ace is now one step closer to making history. Skenes was named a finalist for the NL Cy Young by the Baseball Writers Association of America...

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy were held over on the Hall of Fame’s contemporary baseball era committee ballot and will be joined next month by Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela. The 16-person committee meets on Dec. 7 at the...

In the wake of Los Angeles’ second straight World Series win, we’re being told the Dodgers “bought” victory. Well, of course they did. Their payroll was $350 million this season, $266 million in 2024. But Toronto tried its best to do the same. The Blue Jays paid their players $255...

When the Pirates visited the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 1 this past season, it was a memorable ballgame. The Pirates blew a six-run lead in the final two innings and lost 17-16 on a Brenton Doyle two-run walk-off homer. Pirates management must have remembered the game too. The winning pitcher...

Konnor Griffin developed into the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball and Bubba Chandler into the game’s top pitching prospect, so their status in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization was indisputable. The Pirates recognized Griffin with their Honus Wagner Player of the Year and Chandler with the Bob Friend Pitcher of...

Before Esmerlyn Valdez made noise in the Arizona Fall League by hitting eight home runs in his first nine games, he led all Pittsburgh Pirates minor leaguers in homers this season. So it was befitting that the Pirates named the 21-year-old outfielder/first baseman who hit 26 home runs across two...