Joe Starkey thought he was done talking about the 2025 Pirates, but after seeing what is possible next year, he had to talk about it.
The Bucs swept the Colorado Rockies over the weekend at PNC Park, but more importantly, pitcher Bubba Chandler made his debut and showed a glimpse of what can be.
Chandler pitched four innings and struck out three on Friday night. He also showed an attitude on the mound that we haven’t seen since A.J. Burnett.
“People think the Pirates are a million miles away (from a playoff spot),” said Starkey, adding but when you have a pitching staff that starts with Paul Skenes and Bubba Chandler,” you’re not a million miles away, you’re just not.”
An already good starting pitching staff should be even better next year.
This is a staff that leads Major League Baseball in shutouts with 16.
This once again shows that the Pirates just need to be a little bit better on offense.
“They don’t need to be the ’79 Pirates on offense, they need to be somewhat competent to at least be in the Wild Card picture,” said Starkey.
Now is not the time to strip down this team, now is the time to add some bats and this team, in 2026, is capable of battling for a playoff spot.