The Pirates were already waiting for Spencer Horwitz and Oneil Cruz to return from the injured list in July, hoping that would give one of baseball\u2019s best offenses another jolt. Instead, Pittsburgh now has to hope it can stay close enough in the playoff race for those reinforcements to even matter by the time they arrive.<\/p>\n
These injuries, along with Griffin’s, could reasonably push the Pirates away from paying a premium for short-term rentals at the trade deadline<\/a>. But they apparently have not pushed Pittsburgh out of the buyer\u2019s lane altogether. According to Passan, the Pirates remain on the hunt for bullpen help and could be a team that tries to make a move sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n That should be music to Pirates fans\u2019 ears.<\/p>\n Konnor Griffin injury hasn’t affected Pirates’ deadline buyer status, per Jeff Passan<\/p>\n Passan specifically connected Pittsburgh to two relievers on multiyear deals: Garrett Whitlock and Luke Weaver. Neither would be a cheap acquisition, but that’s also the point. Instead of dumping prospect capital into a two-month rental and hoping everything breaks perfectly, the Pirates would be using the deadline to address both the current roster and the future roster at the same time.<\/p>\n Whitlock has long been a dependable, versatile relief arm for the Boston Red Sox. Weaver, meanwhile, has been nearly untouchable in a lost New York Mets season. Either one would give Don Kelly another legitimate late-inning option alongside Gregory Soto, which has become even more important with Evan Sisk hitting the injured list with elbow issues.<\/p>\n Luke Weaver has been lights out in the bullpen for the Mets this year (1.89 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 38.0 IP). He would be a massive upgrade for the Pirates.<\/p>\n But would a 33-year-old reliever be worth the $9.5 mil salary this year, and $12.5 mil next year, to the Pirates? pic.twitter.com\/StHekk2rkz<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Bucco Territory (@BuccoTerritory) July 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Sisk has been Pittsburgh\u2019s best reliever this season, and losing him only adds urgency to a bullpen search that was already a top priority.<\/a> The Pirates have the rotation to stay relevant. They have enough offensive upside, even after Griffin\u2019s injury, to believe they can survive if Horwitz and Cruz return on schedule. What they cannot afford is to keep putting high-leverage innings on a thin relief corps and hope it holds.<\/p>\n Passan\u2019s report doesn’t guarantee anything. The Pirates still have to decide how aggressive they want to be, especially with Griffin out and the deadline picture complicated by injuries. But the bigger takeaway is encouraging: Pittsburgh is being viewed as a legitimate deadline buyer with enough urgency, enough talent and enough reason to act.<\/p>\n After a decade of watching the Pirates operate like the future mattered more than the present, that alone feels like a major shift.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\"){kind=icon}
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