Will the Pirates’ Re-Built Bullpen Carry Them to October?

Heading into the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline, the Pittsburgh Pirates had one clear area they needed to upgrade to take one step closer to contention: their bullpen.

To this point, the Pirates’ bullpen has simply been one of the worst in baseball. With 19 blown saves, the Pirates are tied for the sixth-most in the sport, alongside the ninth-worst bullpen ERA and an atrocious left-on-base rate that sits below 70%.

The club’s bullpen has handed away countless games in the late stages, making for some brutal losses that have placed the club just on the cusp of possessing an NL Wild Card spot. It’s not unrealistic to say that with a better bullpen, the Pirates would find themselves well within the Wild Card picture, potentially even competing for the division.

Even if they had completed nine of their blown saves alone — a mark just under half of the saves they’ve blown — the club would hypothetically sit at 66-48, a record that would be two wins better than the top NL Wild Card spot currently possesses. This isn’t accounting for the multiple non-save situations where the Pirates’ bullpen has struggled and ultimately lost games because of it.

Knowing this, the club acted at the deadline, landing four relievers between Aug. 1 and Aug. 3, including three arms on deadline day itself. Seemingly overnight, the Pirates rebuilt their bullpen, turning one of their biggest weaknesses into a potential strength in almost no time.

With this in mind, will these additions be enough to push the club to October and break their 11-year playoff drought? Let’s dive in.

Introducing The New Acquisitions

Before breaking down the impact the new additions will have on the bullpen itself and being able to finish off some of their should-be victories, we first have to meet these four new arms.

Camilo Doval, RHP | Acquired From: New York Yankees

The first arm acquired by the Pirates during the deadline season was right-handed flamethrower Camilo Doval, a former All-Star with the San Francisco Giants during the 2023 season. That year, Doval picked up 39 saves, a mark that led the league.

Admittedly, Doval has struggled up to this point in the 2026 season. Through 41.2 innings with the Yankees, Doval has pitched to a 4.54 ERA, a 4.75 FIP, and a WHIP near 1.40 while only notching 41 strikeouts in that same span. However, there is a deeper, more intriguing story when looking under the hood.

For starters, Doval has truly electric stuff. He’s able to dial his cutter and sinker into the high-90s regularly, with both offerings occasionally reaching triple digits. Opponents have had a tough time with his slider and changeup as well, as both offerings have generated whiffs at a rate above 44% while producing better expected numbers than actual outcomes, indicating there could be some bad luck in his profile.

That latter point is one of the most intriguing pieces of Doval’s profile, as he has performed far worse in Yankee Stadium than when pitching on the road. His ERA in Yankee Stadium was over 7.00; meanwhile, on the road, that mark was just 2.11. This can be seen across nearly all of Doval’s metrics, meaning he could have been a victim of the hitter-friendly nature of Yankee Stadium.

Arguably the biggest support for this idea is that, according to Baseball Savant’s expected home run tool, he was expected to give up eight more home runs while pitching in Yankee Stadium compared to PNC Park. Once again, these types of differences indicate that a change of scenery could be exactly what Doval needs to truly succeed and allow his stuff to be maximized.

Luke Weaver, RHP | Acquired From: New York Mets

The second arm acquired by the Pirates was their biggest move of the deadline, as they were able to land Luke Weaver from the New York Mets for just one prospect, infielder Sammy Stafura. Weaver was the best reliever on the market outside of Padres right-hander Mason Miller, making this a huge splash for the Pirates.

As it currently stands, Weaver is in the midst of arguably the best season of his career, as he has been spectacular for the Mets. Through 44 innings in Queens, Weaver has recorded a 1.84 ERA, a 2.82 FIP, and a WHIP of 0.82 while notching 45 strikeouts in the process. Unlike some of the other arms shifted around at the deadline, you don’t have to squint to understand how he has been so dominant this season.

To put it simply, Weaver is elite in nearly every aspect of his game. Both his chase and whiff rates rank above the 30% mark, placing him well within the top 20% of the league in these areas. He’s kept free passes to a minimum (6.5% walk rate) and limited hard contact consistently (34.2% hard-hit rate). All of these are areas where the Pirates have previously struggled, meaning he is instantly going to be an upgrade the second he steps onto the mound.

His four-seamer and changeup combine to make up nearly 85% of his pitch usage, and both offerings have been spectacular. His fastball has an opponent xwOBA of just .260, and his changeup has produced a 38.8% whiff rate with a hard-hit rate of only 25%. With these two offerings at the top of his arsenal, he should continue dominating this season.

Weaver was likely the best move the Pirates could have made this deadline, and they didn’t hesitate when given the opportunity. He’s going to immediately become a high-leverage arm for this team, and quite a valuable one at that.

Kirby Yates, RHP | Acquired From: Los Angeles Angels

The third arm the Pirates acquired at the deadline was right-handed veteran and two-time All-Star Kirby Yates, who is in the midst of a strong campaign at 39 years old. His profile is built on deception and craftiness, as his stuff has regressed with age. Regardless, he’s been quite effective in 2026 while pitching for the Angels.

Through 27.1 innings of relief for the Halos, Yates has pitched to a 3.95 ERA, a 3.17 FIP, and a 1.17 WHIP with 36 strikeouts to his name. Earlier, I mentioned that Yates was a two-time All-Star, and the second of those honors came just two years ago. He’s showing flashes of that dominance once again in 2026.

Digging a little deeper, Yates has excelled at generating whiffs and chases from opponents with his mostly two-pitch mix. He’s posted a chase rate above 37% and a whiff rate above 33%, which have combined to help him strike out batters at a 30.5% clip this season.

He’s attacked opponents almost exclusively with a two-pitch mix, with his splitter being my personal favorite of his offerings. This pitch has produced a whiff rate just shy of 37%, with a hard-hit rate of only 38.5% to match.

With Yates producing the type of stuff needed to generate plenty of chases and whiffs despite his age, he’s going to be another low-risk addition to this Pirates bullpen as they move down the stretch.

Lake Bachar, RHP | Acquired From: Miami Marlins

The final bullpen arm acquired by the Pirates at the 2026 deadline is Marlins right-hander Lake Bachar, a three-year veteran who is currently in the midst of yet another strong campaign. Boasting a deep mix, he’s able to attack hitters from multiple different looks, becoming a reliable bullpen option.

Through 58.2 innings this season, Bachar has posted a 3.84 ERA, a 4.29 FIP, and a 1.09 WHIP while striking out 61 batters. He’s been excellent as a workhorse, long-relief option for Miami over the past two seasons, notching nearly 130 innings between 2025 and 2026.

While Bachar has been elite at generating whiffs this season (30.6% whiff rate) and above-average at limiting hard contact, his deep pitch mix is what really makes him an interesting arm. He attacks opponents with six different pitches, using all of them fairly regularly.

Almost all of these offerings have produced encouraging results to this point, but it’s Bachar’s curveball that really jumps off the page. So far, he’s used it 14% of the time, and it has limited opponents to a .185 xwOBA with a 44.4% whiff rate and a hard-hit rate just over 35%.

As long as Bachar continues mixing his pitches well, he’ll remain a good, reliable relief option for the Pittsburgh Pirates down the stretch.

How Do They Improve the Previous Issues?

Now that we’ve covered each of these arms individually, we can begin to see how they actually improve the main issues this Pirates bullpen faced as a group. Spoiler alert: they do a lot of heavy lifting, immediately helping solve several of the massive problems this unit had throughout the season.

Covering Leverage Innings and Locking Down Games

The most obvious aspect of the bullpen that has improved with the arrival of these four arms is the club’s ability to cover high-leverage innings and hopefully convert some of their save opportunities. Luke Weaver will be the clearest upgrade in this area, as he’s been incredibly sharp when used in these situations.

Opponents have slashed just .163/.288/.279 against Weaver in high-leverage situations, as he has surrendered only seven hits. Most notably, Weaver has allowed just one home run in high-leverage situations this season.

He’ll likely either end up as the full-time closer or split those duties with Mason Montgomery, who has been sharp as of late. Montgomery has allowed only four runs since June 26, and those four runs have come in just two games. Since June 26, Montgomery has pitched to a 2.40 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 15 innings.

While arms like Doval and Yates could certainly succeed in these roles, it’s probably best to have them bridge the gap between middle relief and high-leverage innings late in games. Ideally, these two arms would fit somewhere between the seventh and eighth innings. As for Bachar, due to his more frequent usage in Miami, he’s best suited to help eat middle-relief innings.

Preventing the Long Ball

Aside from covering high-leverage innings, this Pirates bullpen has struggled with preventing the long ball, ranking around the middle of the pack in this area this season. The four arms the Pirates acquired at the deadline should certainly help improve upon those struggles.

As a team, the club’s bullpen has allowed 52 home runs, with many of those coming in key spots and impacting the final results of games. This ranks them 14th in baseball, while their home run rate per nine innings of 1.05 ranks 15th in the sport.

Luke Weaver and Kirby Yates both possess far better HR/9 numbers than this mark, which should help bring that number down tremendously. Both right-handed relievers have posted marks in the 0.60s, placing them among the best in baseball in this area.

Ending the Carousel

One of the biggest and most underrated issues that will be addressed with the acquisition of these four arms is the end of the constant turnover in the bullpen, otherwise known as the “carousel” between Triple-A and the big leagues. A more organized, set-in-stone group of relievers will be incredibly important, as they’ll have fewer uncertainties about their relief options on a nightly basis.

Since July 1 alone, the Pirates have made over 40 transactions involving their bullpen, which is simply unsustainable. With a rotating cast, manager Don Kelly won’t be able to properly game plan and prepare for when to use his arms, which could have contributed to the inconsistencies in production from the bullpen.

With this group looking more established and locked in following the trade deadline, the Pirates should no longer have a rotating cast in the bullpen, which will be a tremendous help down the stretch.

Can This Group Secure a Postseason Berth?

The final question remaining is whether or not this bullpen can actually help secure a postseason berth by season’s end. All signs point toward yes, as the Pirates have answered many of the key questions that plagued this group before deadline day.

With the bullpen now better equipped to handle high-leverage situations, prevent the long ball, and simply have a consistent cast of faces, they should be in a much better spot as the season winds down. Adding Luke Weaver alone helps improve these areas tremendously, but they become even stronger with the additions of Lake Bachar, Camilo Doval, and Kirby Yates.

On top of this, the Pirates will be getting back Evan Sisk any day now, a key left-handed arm who had pitched to a 2.23 ERA over 36 innings before landing back on the injured list. In a way, this will serve as one final acquisition as they move toward the finish line, providing one more boost.

Finally, the bullpen as a whole has pitched much better since the All-Star break. In fact, the Pirates’ bullpen has posted the third-best FIP in baseball since July 17, which helps validate this idea. Mason Montgomery, Yohan Ramirez, and Gregory Soto have all been lights-out during this stretch, which helps tremendously as well.

If the Pirates can continue this dominant stretch and see productive innings from their new bullpen additions, there’s no doubt this team can make its way into the Wild Card picture. They currently sit only 3.5 games out of the third Wild Card spot, meaning breaking the drought is well within reach.