The Pittsburgh Pirates may finally get a solid answer in the 9th inning of games. With their active deadline, the Bucs have brought in more options that have high-leverage experience. Along with the breakout of some other arms, the Pirates may find a closer in their ranks very soon. So what does the current situation look like, and what are their options going into the home stretch of the 2026 season?
Mason Montgomery
Mason Montgomery was acquired this past offseason in the deal that also netted the Pirates Brandon Lowe and Jake Mangum. His 3.72 ERA doesn’t do him full justice. He also has a 2.75 FIP and a 1.20 WHIP. The left-hander has struck out 37.1% of batters and is in the 88th percentile of whiff percentage (31.3%). He also hasn’t allowed many home runs, with a 0.98 HR/9 ratio, 82nd percentile exit velocity (87.1 MPH), and 94th percentile ground ball percentage (54.5%). His 10.8% walk rate isn’t outstanding, but he has limited walks at a better rate recently.
Since June 15, Montgomery has a 2.84 ERA over his last 19 innings of work. His ERA isn’t even the most impressive part, as he has also struck out half of the batters he has faced. He has also cut his walk rate down to 9.2%. When opponents do make contact against him, it’s rarely ever hard contact, with an 85.6 MPH exit velocity.
When the Pirates acquired Montgomery, he only used two pitches in 2025: his upper-90s four-seamer and upper-80s slider. Although those are still his two most-used offerings this year, he’s now mixing in an upper-80s curveball that opponents have a zero-degree launch angle and 34.6% whiff rate, and an upper-90s sinker that has induced a .253 xwOBA and 33.3% whiff percentage.
Montgomery is getting used to more high-leverage work. Since the start of July, his leverage index comes in at 2.13. Anything above 2.0 is considered high-leverage. All three of his saves this year have also come since July. The Pirates have definitely treated Montgomery as a high-leverage reliever as of recently, and could slot him into the 9th inning role now.
Luke Weaver
Luke Weaver was the biggest acquisition the Pirates made at the trade deadline. The right-hander signed a two-year contract with the New York Mets this past offseason, and the first year has gone about as well as anyone could have hoped for. In 44 innings, Weaver owns a 1.84 ERA, 2.82 FIP, and a 0.82 WHIP. Weaver’s peripherals back up his bottom-line performance as well.
He struck out 26.6% of batters he faced with a walk rate of only 6.5%. He is above the 80th percentile of both whiff (30.4%) and chase (34%) this year. Although his 8.1% barrel rate was only about league average, he carried a solid 88.1 MPH exit velocity and a ground ball percentage of 44.1%. Weaver was also in the 92nd percentile of xERA at 2.85, and held opponents to an xwOBA just two ticks over .200 at .202.
Weaver is seeing the most high-leverage innings of his career this year. His average leverage index comes in at 1.66. The Mets primarily utilized him as their set-up man, as he recorded 15 holds. However, he did have a dozen save opportunities last year with the crosstown rival New York Yankees. He is well-equipped to save games if the Pirates must turn to him in the 9th inning of games at a regular rate.
Gregory Soto
The Pirates signed Gregory Soto to a one-year contract during the offseason. The veteran lefty reliever has pitched better than expected, with a 3.59 ERA, 3.68 FIP, and 1.07 WHIP over 47.2 innings pitched. Soto has improved in multiple different peripheral stats from last year as well.
He upped his K% from 25.1% in 2025 to 28.3% this year. While his 0.94 HR/9 ratio is a step back from last year’s mark of 0.60, he is still very good at limiting hard and quality contact. His 86.2 MPH exit velocity is a career-best mark. Soto’s 5.2% barrel rate is the second-best of his career. The only area he hasn’t massively improved in is walk rate, coming in at 10.6%. His 3.05 xERA, 3.79 xFIP, and 3.35 SIERA are all career-best marks as well.
Soto has the most experience in the closer role. He has 70 career saves and made back-to-back All-Star games in 2021 and 2022 as the Detroit Tigers’ closer. This year, he has recorded 14 more saves. Soto has certainly had ups and downs this season, but in terms of experience, he has the most.
Closer By Committee
Instead of crowning one pitcher as their closer, the Pirates could instead go with a closer-by-committee. With two lefties and a righty at their disposal, it might be most beneficial if the Pirates play it by match-up. If the 8th inning has multiple right-handed batters coming up, then it might be best to use Weaver and save Soto or Montgomery for the ninth, and vice versa if there are left-handed batters coming up in the 8th inning.
The Best Answer
If the Pirates want to win down the stretch, their best chance is to play match-ups. Nobody between Soto, Weaver, or Montgomery is so far out in front as the better reliever that one deserves significant priority over another. However, if the Pirates want to make a play for the long term, then they should consider giving Montgomery the closer role down the stretch.
