The Winter Meetings are heating up in Orlando this week, and the Pittsburgh Pirates have already made several moves. Between trading Johan Oviedo, signing All-Star reliever Gregory Soto and getting involved in the Kyle Schwarber sweepstakes, the Pirates have been busier compared to past offseasons.
That’s by design, as Pittsburgh GM Ben Cherington explained during his appearance on MLB Network alongside Pirates manager Don Kelly on Tuesday.
“It all starts with the belief that we can win in 2026, but the position player group is the obvious area to add to,” Cherington said. “I think we’re casting a wide net. We’re pursuing all kinds of free agents and trade opportunities at different levels…Excited to be in this situation where we’re looking to add to the Major League team.”
Cherington added that while “there’s a lot of interest” in Pittsburgh’s young starting pitchers, he’s less inclined to trade any more of them after sending Oviedo to the Boston Red Sox last week for a package headlined by top prospect Jhostynxon Garcia. Accordingly, free agency might be a better path for improving the lineup without further sacrificing pitching depth.
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“We’ve gotta be careful about how much to move off the pitching group,” Cherington said. “We’ve done some of that, wouldn’t rule out doing it again, but we’ve gotta be careful. Don’t want to thin that group out too much. It all comes down to fit.”
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