The Pittsburgh Pirates have been the feel-good story of the MLB season. With star pitcher Paul Skenes shining in his rookie season, the Pirates are looking to snap their eight-year playoff drought. A recent swoon has dropped their playoff odds, specifically due to their trade deadline acquisitions not shining through. Bryan De La Cruz and Isaiah Kiner-Falefa must turn it around to get the Pirates back to the postseason. What other concerns can prevent a massive comeback in the National League?
Pirates have rotation concerns behind Paul Skenes
The first thing fans think of when the 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates is Paul Skenes. The 22-year-old is the front-runner for National League Rookie of the Year and a contender for the Cy Young Award. He leads the team with a 5.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a 0.957 WHIP, and a 183 ERA+. Behind him, injuries and poor performances could hurt the Pirates.
Jared Jones has been excellent as well this season. He is currently on the injured list with a right lat strain but is getting close to returning. Another poor start from Mitch Keller against the Dodgers and Bailey Falter's inability to pitch deep into games leave much to be desired in the Pirates' rotation.
The biggest concern here is that the rotation will not shine like it did in the middle of the season. Without the rotation being among the best in baseball, the Pirates would not have been in the playoff discussion to begin with. Now, Fangraphs gives them just a 1.7% chance to make the playoffs entering Monday's action.
Offensive pop from deadline pickups
The Pirates made two trade deadline deals to improve their offensive output. Outfielder Bryan De La Cruz came from the Marlins and Isaiah Kiner-Falefa made his way from Toronto. Since coming over, De La Cruz is hitting just .118 and Kiner-Falefa is slightly better at .257.
The team is 1-9 in the 10 games since the deadline and the playoff odds have dropped from 17.2% to their current level of 1.7%. While this season is likely over, both players are in Pittsburgh past this season. It will be beneficial to next year's team to get solid performances down the stretch from these two players.
If they want to make a run at the playoffs, they must replace Bryan De La Cruz in their lineup. With just four hits and 14 strikeouts in his time with the Pirates, he is actively hurting the team and can be replaced with Andrew McCutchen daily. McCutchen has turned back the clock at the plate and should be in the lineup over De La Cruz.
Ke'Bryan Hayes must turn it around
In each of the last two seasons, Ke'Bryan Hayes has led the Pirates in WAR. This year, he ranks ninth with just 1.2 wins above replacement due to his poor performance at the plate recently. He has hit .240 since the All-Star but only one of his 18 hits is an extra-base hit. He has just four RBIs in that stretch and has an OPS of just .568.
Hayes is an important member of the team's core. He is signed through 2029 with a club option for 2030. Along with Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds, he is key to turning this franchise around. He must figure out his hitting woes to give fans hope going into next season.
Defensively, he has been stout at third base. He has made just one error since the break and continues to shine at a premium position. This helps the Pirates look past the offensive struggles a little bit to give them hope for next year. He will be the starting third baseman coming out of spring training and if he can get back to his prior offensive output, he will be a star player in the National League.
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