The network baseball guys provided a good laugh during a Saturday night broadcast when they shared a graphic with the Pirates listed first as possible suitors for then-Detroit ace pitcher Tarik Skubal.
Even recalling it makes me chuckle. Yeah. Right. That graphic had the shelf life of a mayfly as, by the end of Saturday night, Skubal had been traded to, wait for it, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The rich get richer and the Pirates continue their existence of champagne tastes on a beer budget. But, they no doubt will tell the fans they were in there making a pitch for Skubal.
What the Pirates did do is acquire disappointing right-handed relief pitcher Camilo Doval, a deal that prompted a C-minus grade from the gurus at ESPN. Doval once was an effective pitcher, as was, ironically, Babe Ruth. But Doval has lost his ability to throw strikes or command his pitchers in the strike zone.
Think of the sudden demise of former Pirates star Steve Blass, who once upon a time pitched two complete game victories (they once were a thing) to lead the Pirates past the Baltimore Orioles in the 1971 World Series.
By April 1974 Blass had pitched his final Major League game. He lost his control in the 1972 season and in 1973 his ERA was a scary 9.85. His name has been linked to pitchers suddenly losing command – Steve Blass Disease.
It is too early to see if Doval, a one-time All-Star, has a terminal case of the ailment, but he did debut with the Pirates Sunday in a blowout loss to Cincinnati and surrendered a home run. Meanwhile, former Pirates closer David Bednar, dealt away at last year’s trade deadline, was wrapping up another save for the New York Yankees.
Restless Pirates fans want more as the trade deadline of 6 p.m. today approaches. This is the point where you might expect me to agree with them.
But, surprise, I do not.
It’s time for a dose or realism. The Pirates are third in the NL Central, but a whopping 14 games behind division-leading Milwaukee.
The Pirates’ 56-57 record going into today ranks them 3.5 games out of a wild-card spot. Both San Diego (1 game out) and Miami (1.5 games out) are between them and that playoff spot, currently shared by Philadelphia and Arizona.
The playoff contention is a mirage based on an abundance of mediocre baseball teams, in both the National and American leagues.
The Pirates have a light-switch offense, either scoring in bunches, or flirting with being shut out. The defense is so-so, relief pitching is poor and the starting pitching suffers from having anticipated ace Paul Skenes struggling.
Skenes, who came into the 2026 season considered among baseball’s elite starting pitchers, dropped a bomb on opening day, but seemed to recover. More recently, he’s posted a first and not a good one, yielding five earned runs in consecutive starts for the first time in his career.
Skenes’ velocity is down and his command has slipped.
Even with Skenes at peak form, the Pirates don’t have the look of a legitimate playoff team, no matter if they somehow would slip into the playoff field.
To get the sort of help the Pirates need would require draining either the middle-of-the-pack farm system or giving up help from the current majors roster. Either prospect is not the best option.
Milwaukee and the Dodgers generally are rated as having the top two farm systems, with the pecking order dependent on the person doing the evaluating. But, they are a consistent 1-2, just some disagreeing on who’s No. 1.
Those franchises, already doing well in the playoff hunt, can afford to trade away talent, as the Dodgers did to acquire Skubal to help their World Series prospects.
The Pirates cannot, and so it is best that they stop at the Doval trade and, forgive me, ask the fans to wait until next year.
Sam Ross Jr's site 