The Pirates season is all but over. Just one week following the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline when the Pirates took a stand as one of the only outside teams in the NL taking a shot, their season is on life support – and that’s being generous. They are 5+ games out of a playoff spot as of today and just dropped 2 of 3 to the hapless New York Mets this weekend, who sold off most of their pitching staff in the last 2 weeks. What went wrong? Plenty can fall on Don Kelly and Ben Cherington, but should a fair amount get put at the feet of Paul Skenes, in the midst of a bad season? How is the Oscar Marin firing looking right about now? Unless a huge run begins tomorrow, we won’t be talking about them as playoff contenders much longer. It will soon be 7 years without a playoff appearance. What will the repercussions be for the front office?
