Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington talks with reporters during Major League Baseball’s general manager meetings, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021, in Carlsbad, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
DETROIT – Ben Cherington did not say that he was told outright that he will return as Pirates general manager, but he’s operating as though he will be back in the role for an eighth season.
Cherington met with reporters at Comerica Park on Saturday and said the discussions he’s had with ownership have been about the future.
“Every conversation I’ve had with Bob [Nutting] was just about that — how do we keep getting better? How do we assess this season? What do we need to learn from it? The progress, the things that need to get better and what can we do about that going forward? Everything we’ve done over time is building toward October,” Cherington explained. “Every decision we’ve made, and certainly every decision we’ve made over the last 12 months, was all aimed toward that. I don’t think that changes. It can’t change. We have to go into this offseason focused on that.”
The 2026 season was the best the Pirates have had under Cherington. Pittsburgh enters Saturday’s game against the Tigers at 81-79 with a chance to clinch its first winning season since 2018.
While the team has shown improvement this season, the Pirates will fail to make the playoffs for an 11th straight season, including each of the seven years Cherington has been in his role.
“Our goal was to play games in October. That’s not happening, so we fell short of that goal,” said Cherington, who has a 446-584 record with the Pirates. “We made real progress. We have to stay laser-focused on the work necessary to put ourselves in that position next year, to be playing games in October.”
Cherington’s job was in question this time last year, but the Pirates decided to bring him back for 2026 while simultaneously naming Don Kelly full-time manager.
The Pirates, so far, have improved by 10 games after finishing last season with a 71-91 record. Pittsburgh will finish in third place in the National League Central – its best finish in the division since 2016 – but was officially eliminated from playoff contention on Sep. 18.
While the end goal was not met, Cherington views this year as a foundation being set for 2027.
“I do think there’s tangible progress and I think we can point to evidence of that,” said Cherington. “You can look at the roster and I think in every area of the roster: catching, infield, outfield, starting pitching, bullpen. There are really talented players in all those areas who are going to be part of this team or can be part of this team next year – most of whom are either entering or are in their primes and there’s reason to believe that there’s really good years ahead of them. So there’s strength in that foundation and we have to be honest that we didn’t win enough games, which means we got to get better, we have to find a way to get better.”
Despite a year consisting of more disappointment than progress, and mounting frustration from the fanbase, the assumption is that he will indeed be the one to try and assemble a team capable of snapping MLB’s second-longest playoff drought.
“I don’t think it’s my job to tell people how they should or shouldn’t feel. I know what we’re focused on. I know the progress we’ve made,” said Cherington. “I know the talent that exists in this organization on the field and in baseball operations and in the staff believe we have shown that we’re able to make good decisions in all areas of baseball operations and push this thing forward.”
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