The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield, as it stands going into the 2025-26 offseason, is arguably just as bad as the infield from an offensive standpoint.
Corner outfield was a significant issue going into the 2025 season, and they didn’t address it until the closing days of the offseason, bringing in 37-year-old Tommy Pham for $4 million. Keep in mind that in the 2024 season, Pham signed a Minor League deal with what would be the worst team in the modern era, the Chicago White Sox, and had significantly
below-average numbers with three different teams that season.
Pham was right when he claimed in the spring that he’s a much better defender in left field than right field, and the Pirates putting him there was an excellent decision, as he was one of the top left fielders in MLB defensively. But his bat was much worse than expected for the first couple of months of the season, which, among other things, contributed to the Pirates’ early-season collapse.
When Pham got his eye issue sorted out, he got so hot that, at one point, he was leading the team in OPS and average. The Tommy Pham experience was certainly entertaining, but it wasn’t serious toward being a playoff contender in 2025.
With Bryan Reynolds having a down year and Oneil Cruz continuing to disappoint, the Pirates kept trying to see if any of their AAAA (yes, I included the additional ‘A’ in there) guys like Ji-Hwan Bae, Jack Suwinski, and an early April addition like Alexander Canario, could bring a spark to this offense in the outfield and prove that they have a bright future.
All were beyond awful, although Canario had some decent stretches and certainly has power potential, and would go weeks on end without playing much at all. Bae and Suwinski should not even be considered for the 26-man roster next season, and probably should be removed from the 40-man roster. We’ve seen more than enough from those two.
Guys like Billy Cook and Nick Yorke, who were traded for at the 2024 deadline, didn’t get much of a look with the Pirates in 2025 because they regressed significantly in AAA Indianapolis – shocker! Both can play outfield but may be looking for spots in the infield next year.
Bryan Reynolds was much better in the second half offensively, and fans should be confident that he has some stronger seasons at the plate left in him. He is easily the best hitter on this team. But the criticism of him being poor defensively was much more noticeable last season. Maybe it was because he switched from left field to right field, but it’s not like he was fantastic over there either.
It is essential for the Pirates offense for Bryan Reynolds to be very good year round, which is why it would be smart to make him the full time DH that could learn to platoon at first base when needed. Let him focus on what he’s here to do – being a leader of this offense.
Oneil Cruz is 26 years old. The excuses are over for him. Hitting .200 and often showing a lack of focus, effort, and basic fundamentals is not acceptable. No one wants to hear about his elite Statcast numbers, fans want to see a winning baseball player on a daily basis, and that isn’t what he is right now. It wouldn’t be shocking if Don Kelly talked to the front office about his future in Pittsburgh this offseason. It’s his team now, and he can’t have one of the “stars” of the team not setting the right standard.
For the Pirates to have any offensive output in 2025 from their outfield, they will have to get two legitimate starting options for corner outfield, and potentially a defensive centerfielder to put some pressure on Oneil Cruz. There aren’t any players within the organization who will make a substantial impact immediately, despite what some front-office employees may believe. The team was in a similar situation going into last year and did nothing about it, so it’s hard to feel hopeful that actual improvements will be made.
