To suggest the Pittsburgh Pirates started the 2025 season on the wrong foot is putting it mildly. This one appeared doomed long before they ever played a game at PNC Park.
Fans furious over the franchise’s failure to pump up one of the lowest payrolls in the major leagues bought billboards urging Pirates chairman Bob Nutting to sell the team. A pointed question was directed at team management during a Q&A session at the fan festival: Where is Bob?
To make matters worse, the top offseason acquisition, first baseman Spencer Horwitz, underwent surgery on his wrist before the start of spring training and missed the first two months of the season.
Then, on Opening Day, second baseman Nick Gonzales went deep only to follow with a hobbled home-run trot on a fractured ankle and would miss two months, as well. The Pirates then lost three of their first four games – all by one run in extra innings — to the Miami Marlins, who had lost 100 games the previous season.
In what seemed like a poorly timed practical joke, two-time All-Star closer David Bednar, a Mars alum and three-time Roberto Clemente Award nominee for community service, was demoted to Triple-A Indianapolis on April Fool’s Day.
The Pirates had lost five of their first seven games by the time they returned for their home opener, and the vultures were circling. So was an airplane above PNC Park, demanding that Nutting sell the team. That became the chorus of chants from frustrated fans all season.
And, believe it or not, it only got worse from there.
Their anger amid a 91-loss season was fueled by off-field fiascos.
Roberto Clemente Jr. caused a stir with his social media reaction to learning that the Pirates had replaced a sign honoring his father with a Surfside ad on the 21-foot right field wall named for the Hall of Fame right fielder. So did the disposal of Bucco Bricks — bought by fans — to a recycling center.
That was followed by a near tragedy, when a 20-year-old fan fell over the Clemente Wall and onto the warning track during play in the seventh inning against the Chicago Cubs on May 1.
A week later, the Pirates fired manager Derek Shelton following a 12-26 start and named bench coach Don Kelly his replacement for the remainder of the season. The promotion of Kelly, a Mt. Lebanon and Point Park alum who once played for the Pirates, was well received.
But the Pirates tied a major-league record in late May by going 26 consecutive games without scoring more than four runs, a stretch of offensive ineptitude that defined their season. Their offense ranked dead last in the majors in home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and OPS.
For all of Kelly’s positive presence and the brilliant pitching of Paul Skenes, they never spent a day in first place and couldn’t climb out of the basement in National League Central Division standings.
The Pirates went 14-13 in June — their lone month with a winning record — and Bednar, who reclaimed his closer role upon returning in late April, was named NL reliever of the month after recording 16 strikeouts, five saves and allowing no earned runs.
Even the highlight moments were followed by low points. The Pirates outscored the New York Mets, 30-4, in a three-game series and recorded another sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals to start July. They followed that by losing their next eight games, at Seattle, Kansas City and Minnesota before ending the first half with a win over the Twins.
Oneil Cruz shined on the All-Star Weekend stage, blasting bombs to reach the finals of the Home Run Derby. Skenes made history by becoming the first pitcher in MLB history to start All-Star Games in his first two seasons, with the 2024 NL rookie of the year retiring the side.
The Pirates were hoping that momentum would carry them into the second half, only to be swept at home by the Chicago White Sox in humiliating fashion. They lost three games by a combined score of 27-7 to a team that set an MLB record with 121 losses in 2024.
But the Pirates answered by sweeping the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers on their way to winning seven of eight, including a sweep of the Giants in San Francisco. But the trade deadline took a toll, as the Pirates dealt Bednar to the New York Yankees, Gold Glove third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to the Cincinnati Reds and left-handed pitchers Bailey Falter to the Royals and Caleb Ferguson to the Seattle Mariners.
Perhaps the most promising news involved the future. Top prospect Bubba Chandler, a right-handed pitcher, made history with a four-inning save in his debut in August and earned wins in his next two games before getting shelled for nine runs on nine hits in his first career start.
Konnor Griffin, a 19-year-old shortstop selected in the first round in 2024, was named the minor league player of the year and baseball’s consensus top prospect. Right-hander Seth Hernandez, another teenager who was their top pick in July, is touching triple digits with his fastball.
Skenes, who went 10-10 with a 1.97 ERA and set a franchise record for strikeouts by a right-hander (216), was the unanimous winner of the NL Cy Young Award and became the first starting pitcher to win it with a record of .500 or worse.
With the baseball world demanding they build a contender around Skenes, the Pirates have been ambitious this offseason, making Kelly their manager moving forward and hiring new bench, pitching, third base and infield coaches.
The Pirates extended a reported nine-figure offer to slugger Kyle Schwarber, who opted to stay with the Philadelphia Phillies, but signed lefty high-leverage reliever Gregory Soto to a one-year, $7.75 million contract, traded for two-time All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and lefty reliever Mason Montgomery and signed 2025 All-Star first baseman/designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn to a two-year, $29 million deal.
Those moves have turned the chants to cheers, ending a forgettable year with the promise that 2026 will get off to a better start amid the knowledge that this one would be difficult to duplicate.