The Pirates have fallen flat at every aspect of baseball this year, and that certainly includes the bullpen. Despite great showings by David Bednar, Wil Crowe, and Dillon Peters, their relievers rank 26th in MLB in ERA after the team’s latest embarrassment on Sunday. Last year they were 23rd; no word yet on whether the drop to 26th should be considered “encouraging.”
The need for personnel changes is glaringly obvious . . . . . . well, to most people, anyway. Despite the problems in 2021, Ben Cherington made no meaningful effort to improve the ‘pen in the offseason.