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Pirates president has laughable reason for Ben Cherington's return in 2026

On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Pirates completed their seventh consecutive losing season, including their sixth straight with Ben Cherington as general manager. After finishing with the worst record in baseball (19-41) in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, they went on to post back-to-back 100-loss seasons in 2021-22 and consecutive 76-win seasons in 2023-24. The 2025 campaign saw them take a step back, finishing 71-91.

So, naturally, they're bringing Cherington back for a seventh season. You truly can't make this stuff up.

After announcing a contract extension for manager Don Kelly (which was the right move), the Pirates went on to make the announcement that no fan wanted to hear – that Cherington would be back as GM in 2026.