Barring a miracle on par with the Moneyball A’s, the Pirates are out of contention for the 2026 playoffs. The season started off strong and the Bucs held on for over half the year, but an early August skid ultimately dashed the hopes of Pirates fans. Despite that, there is still plenty to watch over the final stretch of the season as the Pirates begin figuring out their plans for 2027.
Obviously, Paul Skenes is going to be one of the biggest stories to watch down the stretch. But Skenes is a national story at this point, and there will be plenty written about him over the next month. Instead, here are five slightly more under-the-radar Pirates storylines that could have a major impact on what this team looks like next season.
1. What is Esmerlyn Valdez?
Esmerlyn Valdez has only been in the MLB for half a year. If you have followed the Bucs this season, that seems impossible, because it feels like Valdez has already experienced more in his career than most veterans. He started miserably at the plate, went back down to the minors, came back up, was one of the best hitters in baseball for a month, went through a horrific cold stretch, and has now settled in as a solid corner outfielder.
Before July 27, Valdez was hitting .293 with 14 home runs and 36 RBI in just 37 games. Since then, he is hitting just .183 with one home run, 16 hits and 39 strikeouts. Those are two completely different hitters, and the biggest question over the final month is figuring out which one is closer to the real Valdez.
By now, we know the type of hitter “The Magician” is going to be. He is going to walk a ton, and he is also going to strike out a ton. What we don’t know is whether he is a 35-home-run guy or a 20-home-run guy. Either way, Valdez will have a role on the Pirates next year. However, there is a massive difference between him developing into arguably the best hitter on the team and simply becoming a nice power bat toward the bottom of the lineup.
Admittedly, we probably aren’t going to get a definitive answer over the next month. Valdez is still just 22 years old until January, and there is plenty of room for him to develop. But pitchers have clearly adjusted to him after his ridiculous start, and now it is his turn to adjust back. The rest of 2026 will be crucial for Valdez to set the table for his 2027 campaign.
2. Is Mason Montgomery the Closer of the Future?
When the 2026 season began, it seemed like there was no way anybody besides Dennis Santana would close games for the Pirates. Fast forward a few months, and Santana was cut from the team. Gregory Soto took his place and did a fine job, but he is on a one-year contract. The Pirates then acquired Luke Weaver at the trade deadline, and many Pirates fans assumed he would take over the ninth inning this year and next. Former closers Camilo Doval and Kirby Yates were also brought in at the deadline.
And yet, through all of that, one fireballer has risen to the top.
Mason Montgomery has basically looked like a left-handed Mason Miller for months now. Over the last two months, Montgomery has a 1.57 ERA with an absurd 45 strikeouts in just 23 innings. There have been countless times where Monty has entered a game, promptly struck out three straight batters and walked back to the dugout completely unfazed.
He seemingly has the perfect mental approach to close games, not to mention the skill set. Right now, it seems obvious that he will continue this dominance down the stretch and snatch the closer job for good heading into next season. However, relievers are maybe the most volatile players in all of sports. A few bad outings in a row can completely change the way a bullpen hierarchy looks.
No matter what happens, it is clear the Pirates took a huge win by acquiring Montgomery, Brandon Lowe and Jake Mangum for Mike Burrows. But if Montgomery takes another step and establishes himself as one of baseball’s elite relievers, it might eventually go down as an all-time bad trade for the Rays.
3. Is the Catching Position Coming Together?
Halfway through 2026, the Pirates looked like they had one of the worst catching situations in the league. Henry Davis was good behind the plate but worse than dreadful with the bat, while Joey Bart went from looking like a potential long-term answer at the position to being DFA’d.
Since then, Endy Rodriguez and Rafael Flores Jr. have completely changed the outlook of the position. Both have been slotted into the middle of the order and have come through time and time again. Both have also gone through stretches so torrid that Don Kelly has refused to take them out of the lineup, instead finding time for them at first base just to keep their bats in the order.
Endy is far better behind the dish, but it seems increasingly possible that injuries may plague him throughout his career. Flores is the more interesting question, and one that can start to be answered over the rest of the season. The Pirates acquired Flores as the headliner of the David Bednar trade, and around a month ago, that deal looked like it might be a huge loss for the Bucs.
Since then, Flores has been one of the best hitting catchers in baseball. He has a .950 OPS this season with six home runs in just 64 at-bats, destroying baseballs and coming through in several massive spots for the Pirates.
If Endy can come back and look similar to the player he was earlier in the season, and Flores continues annihilating the ball, the Buccos may suddenly have an answer to a short-term catching problem that has been their bugaboo for years. That would be one massive question the front office could cross off its offseason list.
4. Which Jared Jones Are We Going to Get?
In his 2024 rookie campaign, Jared Jones flashed both excellence and struggles, but he looked like an absolute future stud. Unfortunately, like countless other pitchers in today’s league, he suffered a major arm injury that kept him out for the next year and a half.
When he returned in the early months of the 2026 season, he struggled, as expected. His ERA sat in the 5s despite his stuff still looking electric. Then July happened.
Jones suddenly looked even better than his rookie self, posting a 2.00 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 27 innings while allowing just 11 hits. It looked like he had finally turned the corner and reestablished himself as one of the most exciting young arms in the organization. Then, once again, everything flipped. In August, Jones is 0-3 with a 7.88 ERA.
Jones has been up and down throughout his short career, but when the swings are this extreme, it becomes difficult to pin down exactly what the Pirates can expect from him next season.
A bad final month wouldn’t completely tank the organization’s perception of Jones. He is still young, still coming off a major injury and still possesses some of the best pure stuff on the staff. But it would raise some serious questions about what exactly this rotation looks like in 2027.
We know Braxton Ashcraft should be a major piece next season, and it is hard to imagine Skenes doesn’t bounce back. But after those two, where is the certainty? Right now, there really isn’t much. Another dominant stretch from Jones would be a godsend for a Pirates team that desperately needs another starter it can confidently pencil into next year’s rotation.
5. Is Spencer Horwitz Okay?
Throughout the first half of the season, Spencer Horwitz was sneakily one of the best bats on the Pirates. He had an .842 OPS, had been excelling since being moved into the leadoff spot and was quietly making an All-Star push.
Then, he got hurt.
Horwitz strained his hamstring, and while rehabbing and getting ready to return, he was drilled in the head and suffered a concussion. After finally making it back, he has been absolutely dreadful, hitting just .133 with a single extra-base hit. His season OPS has now fallen all the way to .752.
The good news is that Horwitz has already shown over a large enough sample that he is a good MLB hitter. It is more likely than not that, with a healthy offseason, he will get back to being something close to the player he was before the injuries.
Still, it would be extremely encouraging to see some signs of life before the season ends. The Pirates already have enough questions to answer offensively this offseason. If Horwitz can finish the year on a strong stretch and remind everyone of the hitter he was for the first several months, that is one fewer position they have to worry about heading into 2027.
