Last offseason, it was reported by John Perrotto that Bob Nutting increased the baseball operations budget by $20 million, and Ben Cherington spent the majority of that towards upgrading the research and development department. For an organization that relies on internal development over external additions, they absolutely need to be successful in that field and, so far, the Cherington regime hasn't succeeded.
One of the main guys in charge of the Pirates' player development since 2020 has been John Baker. Prior to the 2025 season, his position shifted to the club's performance team. That shift in his role was due to the poor results that came from his approach.