PITTSBURGH — "In Pittsburgh, we need to be making bets on guys that are not proven." — Pirates general manager Ben Cherington, Sept. 30, 2025

Talk about stoking excitement. Cherington got this offseason off to a rousing start with those immortal words. And they should probably be our guide as we morbidly await a critical offseason and wonder how this team might ruin a third straight year of Paul Skenes, who is maybe the greatest young pitcher in baseball history.

Adam Frazier 3.0, anyone?

The Skenes clock is ticking. In fact, it looms larger than that big yellow clock on the North Shore, the one that is counting down the days, hours and minutes until the NFL draft comes to Pittsburgh.

That clock is 6 feet wide and stands on an 18-foot-tall steel beam. Somebody should make a bigger one, shape it like a Rolex and call it "The Skenes Watch," in the spirit of the "Sell The Team Bob" banner that was flown over PNC Park before the home opener. It could count down the time until Skenes is traded or leaves via free agency.

The Pirates control Skenes for four more seasons, which means — based on the Gerrit Cole model — he might only be here two more seasons if they're looking for maximum return in a trade.

In any case, time is of the essence, and despite Cherington's anti-battle cry, proven bats are out there and affordable if the Pirates really want them.

That would require some risk, however, and risk to Bob Nutting is like Raid to an ant.

Make no mistake, though: Bargain bats are available, and the Pirates are beyond desperate. Their offense was laughably pathetic this season, finishing last in the majors in runs (by 16), home runs (by 31), slugging and OPS and third worst in batting average and yet still finding a way to finish seventh in strikeouts. I guess that's why they fired their pitching coach.

The Pirates do, however, have something everybody likes: pitching. (I guess that's why kept their hitting coach.) They could pair Mitch Keller and his $17 million salary with a prospect pitcher and bring back a similarly priced bat. They could trade one of their highly rated young pitchers who isn't named Skenes and bring back a bat. And/or they could simply search the free-agent market and bring in some bats.

This team spent $10 million on a relief pitcher (Aroldis Chapman) two years ago. It spent $9 million on Andrew McCutchen and Tommy Pham combined last offseason. Spend a little more and buy some offense.

Cherington and his lieutenants should be looking everywhere and considering every option. Positions don't matter. Just find hitters.

It's time to upgrade at designated hitter, by the way. McCutchen had an admirable three-year return to Pittsburgh. It's time to move on. He is 39 now and had the worst slugging percentage of his career this season. He hit .239 with 13 home runs, a .700 OPS and a .367 slugging percentage. He doesn't run well or play the field anymore.

Look around the National League, find each team's primary designated hitter and you'll see far better numbers than what McCutchen provides.

Some are unfair to mention — Christian Yelich, Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Schwarber. But keep looking. Chicago's Seiya Suzuki was a DH for 102 games (he also played other positions, which is part of the point here) and hit 32 home runs. The Cardinals' primary DH was Ivan Herrera. He hit 19 home runs with an .837 OPS.

Josh Bell in Washington had 22 home runs and a .747 OPS. Marcell Ozuna (Braves) had 21 homers and a .756 OPS in a down year.

Keep looking. Even guys like San Diego's Gavin Sheets (19 home runs, .429 slugging percentage), Miami's Heriberto Hernandez (.784 OPS, 10 home runs in 256 at-bats) and Cincinnati's Gavin Lux (.724 OPS) outperformed McCutchen in key areas. It really is time to move on.

Besides DH, the Pirates could use at least two or three other offensive upgrades. They could take a big swing and try to trade for Boston center fielder Jarren Duran, who is controllable through 2028 (Nutting's ears just perked) or perhaps Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell, a player Jim Bowden of The Athletic mentioned as a sensible Pirates target. Adell hit 37 home runs this season. He's under team control for two more years.

Brandon Lowe (31 home runs) could be on the move from Tampa Bay if they either let him hit free agency or retain him on an $11.5 million club option and trade him. He'd be a big upgrade on Nick Gonzales at second base. You could also move Gonzales around and use Lowe at DH and elsewhere.

Remember, positions don't matter here.

Bowden projects 34-year-old free-agent third baseman Eugenio Suarez (49 home runs) to land a three-year, $72 million contract somewhere. Why not here? That's $24 million a year. The franchise would survive. Unload $17 million of that in the form of Keller's contract if you must. You already unloaded money at this year's trade deadline.

Bowden, a former MLB GM, published a list of 50 free agents, and linked the Pirates to some. Those include outfielder Trent Grisham (34 home runs) and multiple-time batting champ Luis Arraez, both of whom Bowden says could be had for $15 million annually on two-year deals.

There are others (Jorge Polanco, Ryan O'Hearn, Ozuna). The Pirates haven't signed a multiyear free agent since Moby Dick was a minnow. It's time. Nobody's asking for Pete Alonso, Schwarber or Kyle Tucker here. Just a couple of bats.

Just some hope.

That's all.

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