Pittsburgh improved 11 wins over 2025 despite being eliminated Sept. 18 after seven straight losing series, holding off St. Louis for third place.

Shortstop Wyatt Sanford and catcher Easton Carmichael, the system's top two position-player breakouts of 2026, headline the group headed to Glendale.

Skenes' 3.91 ERA this season, down from consecutive sub-2.00 campaigns, is framed by one outlet as a chance to extend him below what his peak-form seasons would command; no formal talks are confirmed.

Some fans have called for changes to the manager and front office after an 11th straight season without October baseball, while an unnamed rival manager praised the young talent on the roster.

Pittsburgh closed the year with a 4-2 win at Detroit to finish 82-80, its first winning record in eight years, even though it missed the Wild Card by six games.

GM Ben Cherington and manager Don Kelly are both expected to return for 2027, with the organization planning to fill its long-vacant scouting-director post this offseason.

Gray, a Double-A Altoona outfielder, led all of minor league baseball with 32 home runs in 2026.

A walk-off homer allowed by closer Mason Montgomery snapped Pittsburgh's scoreless and save streaks in a 4-3 loss at Detroit, leaving the Pirates at 81-80 with today's finale deciding whether the club finishes above .500 for the first time in eight years.

Pittsburgh's Sept. 24 win over St. Louis, in which Paul Skenes recorded his 200th strikeout of the season, mathematically secured a non-losing season and a better final record than the Cardinals.

Cruz left Saturday's loss at Detroit after sliding for a catch; the team called the exit precautionary. With no postseason implications, he may sit out the finale regardless of the MRI result.

Following his final start of the season, Skenes acknowledged the standard the club has set and pointed to areas to improve over the offseason.

Pittsburgh's late comeback bid came up short in a game the local beat attributed to sloppy defense; the loss also marked the final outing of Bubba Chandler's 2026 season.

The season's last home game prompted reflection from the fan base after a third straight non-contending finish, with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette centering a longtime fan's perspective from Section 333.

Jared Jones took a perfect-game bid into the sixth inning before Nathan Church broke it up with a double, as Pittsburgh blanked St. Louis 2-0.

Pittsburgh entered the week's series with a multi-game lead over St. Louis for third place in the NL Central, with the season series and the resulting tiebreaker still in play depending on the final results.