The Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t just end 2025 with a to-do list — they ended it with a conveyor belt. Prospects are rolling off the line, the big-league clubhouse is getting crowded, and job security is suddenly a rumor more than a guarantee. That’s the good kind of pressure needed if you’re trying to build something sustainable. It’s also the kind of pressure that forces hard choices on familiar names who’ve lived on the bubble for a while.
Promotions change the math. Arms with bigger stuff are knocking, infielders with cleaner profiles are coming, and the margin for “he can do a little bit of everything” has never been thinner in Pittsburgh.