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The Pirates entered 2026 expecting to contend. Instead, year seven of the Ben Cherington era is ending with Pittsburgh essentially eliminated from the postseason picture.
Alex Stumpf looks at what that means for Cherington’s future, but also why this winter presents a unique problem. With an MLB lockout looming in December, the Pirates may have very little time to conduct a GM search, reshape the front office, address coaching and scouting, and prepare a roster that still has Paul Skenes, Oneil Cruz and a potentially competitive core.
Is Pittsburgh better off making a change, or would starting over put them even further behind?
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Read more from Alex Stumpf at Book-Rule Bucs:
https://bookrulebucs.substack.com/
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"Can the Pirates Afford to Wait on Ben Cherington?" is an episode of North Shore Nine: A Pittsburgh Pirates Podcast. Runtime 15 min. Published August 25, 2026. Hit play above to stream it here, or open the free Spot Sports app for background play and offline downloads.
