PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It was pretty simple from Pirates GM Ben Cherington after he acquired four right-handed relief pitchers at the MLB Trade Deadline on Monday, three who will step right into the bullpen.
“We’ve worked hard to try to add to the team because we believe in the team,” Cherington told Pittsburgh reporters. “We believe this team can win games and make a push into October.”
The bullpen has been a reason they’ve lost a number of games this year, the Pirates have 20 blown saves in 2026 and 16 losses in the final at bat.
“The bullpen was an area we intended to strengthen,” Cherington said. “We feel good about the individual pitchers coming onto the team. We feel like the prices made sense. We’re going to look forward to getting to know all of these guys and seeing them come together in the clubhouse now.”
The Pirates added veterans Luke Weaver and Kirby Yates along with third-year pro Lake Bachar. All will immediately impact the Pirates bullpen along with Camilo Doval, who was acquired over the weekend.
The Pirates opening a series at division-leading Milwaukee on Monday 3.5 games of the final wild card spot in the National League.
“You are always thinking about what we can do to improve this team’s chances this year because every year is precious and we do believe we still have a chance,” Cherington said. “And also balancing that with the belief that we have a core of talent, when healthy, on our major league team and at the upper levels that really does give us a chance to be really good in the near-term years also.”
“So you are balancing all that, but ultimately we just believe that we should give this group a chance to be as good as it can be for the next two months. I think the group loves playing together, you can see that. You can see the fight and the bounce back when we do have a tough day.”
“We are just going to give it everything we have for the next two months and see where the outcomes take us. We are excited to dive into that together and see what happens.”
LISTEN to Ben Cherington discuss trade adds & future
LISTEN to Ben Cherington discuss trade adds & future
