Ben Cherington remains unwilling to give up on the club he assembled for the 2025 campaign, insisting the Pittsburgh Pirates in their current iteration have potential.

That said, there is an inescapable reality that Cherington recognizes: The Pirates simply haven’t been good enough over the course of the season.

“I still believe the group of players we have in the organization currently is capable of playing winning baseball in 2025,” Cherington said Sunday during his weekly 93.7 FM program. “I really still believe that. At the same time, it hasn’t happened yet. Not nearly consistent enough, and we have to be honest about that, too. We have to deliver more to our fans — bottom line. We know that.”

In the spirit of being honest about where the Pirates are as the end of June approaches, the Pirates general manager offered a preview of how he’ll look to operate over the ensuing five-plus weeks, with the July 31 trade deadline starting to loom.

For starters, Cherington said the state of the Pirates (30-48), in last place in the NL Central with postseason hopes all but completely evaporated, warrants a particular approach when it comes to acquiring and dealing assets.

“We have to be really, really clear and intentional about, ‘OK, what is going to give us the best chance to win more games as fast as possible?’ And be willing to do the work necessary,” Cherington said.

While short-term splash moves will likely be out of the question, Cherington does not view the rest of 2025 as a lost cause.

Nor does he feel the need to begin focusing solely on 2026 and beyond.

“It’s probably obvious, but the thing that would be less likely to happen is to put a bunch of resources into acquiring a rental player, for example,” Cherington said. “That might not make as much sense for us this year. Who knows, we’ll stay open-minded, but that may not make as much sense.

“But other than that, pretty much any consideration of any move can be about making the team better the next day and also making the team better in 2026. I think those are the opportunities we’ll be looking for.”

Cherington continues to express belief in the Pirates’ “foundation,” a combination of young talent under club control, such as phenom Paul Skenes, up-and-coming prospects like fellow pitcher Bubba Chandler, along with players signed long-term in third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and outfielder Bryan Reynolds.

But ultimately, it sounds as if everything will be on the table for Cherington as things begin to heat up on the trade market.

Despite a disappointing season that’s fallen off the rails, Cherington’s priority will be to improve the club in the short- and long-term.

How Cherington and his team attempt to do that, and what degree of success they experience, remains to be seen.

“The goal will be to put more wins on the field as fast as we can,” Cherington said. “It could be tweaks, it could be more than tweaks. I think that’s the open-minded part. As much as I do believe there is a foundation here that gives us a chance to win sooner rather than later, there’s also the results. You have to be honest about, it might be tweaks, it might be more than tweaks to get us faster towards where we want to be.”

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)