Pirates will be better in 2025

It’s finally one of my favorite days of the year. A day that SHOULD be a national holiday, where kids are off school, businesses are closed and we just all get to enjoy America’s pastime. It’s finally Opening Day.

I’m not here to get into the “boycott the Pirates” and “sell the team” drama. I’m just ready to enjoy baseball again. It’s not for everybody, I get it, but if you grew up playing the game for decades, there’s a love there that just doesn’t go away – no matter how much you hate the owner of one of your favorite teams.

The Pirates start this afternoon against Miami, one of the seven teams that finished with a worse record than last year’s version of the Buccos.

Yes, the Pirates weren’t great last year. They finished in last place in the National League Central, a game behind Cincinnati for the cellar spot.

This year, though, I have some optimism. At least a little. Let’s compare shall we? Last year’s Opening Day starting lineup against what I project will be today’s starting lineup.

CATCHER: 2024 – HENRY DAVIS; 2025 – JOEY BART Upgrade. Henry Davis hasn’t performed like the No. 1 overall pick he was. Joey Bart wasn’t the No. 1 overall pick, but he seemed to have a season everyone projected he would when he was in the Giants’ organization. Davis has power, but so does Bart. That’s why he gets the nod.

FIRST BASE: 2024 – ROWDY TELLEZ; 2025 – DJ STEWART / JARED TRIOLO Upgrade. I put Triolo here because he got some play there during spring training. He’s a Gold Glover, too. I can see a platoon here. Stewart raked in spring training, especially early. Rowdy was a likeable guy, but pretty much every stat dropped from previous seasons.

SECOND BASE: 2024 – TRIOLO; 2025 – NICK GONZALES

Upgrade/push. Triolo is still going to be in the lineup. He can play anywhere on the infield. Gonzales arrived and played great last season, especially in the clutch. I think we’re going to see a break-out season this year with a bit more power. Plus, what a mustache the guy has.

SHORTSTOP: 2024 – ONEIL CRUZ; 2025 – ISIAH KINER-FALEFA Upgrade: Again, Cruz is still in the lineup, just a different position. Kiner-Falefa brings Gold-Glove skill to the position. Cruz struggled and had so many errors. You can’t tell me that didn’t cost a few games last season.

THIRD BASE: 2024 – KE’BRYAN HAYES; 2025 HAYES.

Push. Again, a Gold Glove-caliber defensive player, the key for Hayes this season is going to be his health. He tweaked his swing to take pressure off his ailing back. If things don’t go well and he is forced to miss a lot of time again, no worries. Triolo is here.

OUTFIELD: 2024 – BRYAN REYNOLDS, MICHAEL TAYLOR, CONNOR JOE; 2025 – TOMMY PHAM, ONEIL CRUZ, BRYAN REYNOLDS.

Upgrade: After leaving the White Sox and going to Kansas City, Pham was one of the top outfielders in the American League defensively. He and Reynolds can flip-flop left and right field. I like the Cruz move to center, and now that he’s seemed to accept it, I think he could finally be poised for an All-Star season. Less errors, clean mind and more confidence, could lead to a better year in the batter’s box. We know how hard he can hit the ball, so a 30-home run season could be in the cards.

ROTATION: 2024 – MITCH KELLER, MARTIN PEREZ, JARED JONES, MARCO GONZALES, BAILEY FALTER; 2025 – PAUL SKENES, JARED JONES, BAILEY FALTER, MITCH KELLER, CARMEN MLODZINSKI.

Upgrade: Any time you add Paul Skenes to the rotation full time, it’s definitely going to be better than the previous season. Jones starting the season on the IL isn’t going to help. Not throwing for 6 weeks isn’t good. Hopefully we don’t see a stint on the injured list. You have Falter, then the team signed Andrew Heaney. Hopefully he’s better than he was in the spring, but then again, it’s a time for pitchers to work on some things. I definitely don’t think we saw his best stuff. Mlodzinski was a bit of a surprise, but if Johan Oviedo isn’t back for a while, he brings similar stuff if he can control it. I nearly forgot Gonzales was even on the team last year, he missed so much of it. Keller needs to not have the late-season slide like he did last year. We know his stuff is good, but we need it consistently.

CLOSER: 2024 – DAVID BEDNAR; 2025 – BEDNAR. Downgrade: Not sure if it was an injury or loss of confi- dence, but we know Bednar wasn’t great last year.

I think the Pirates should have resigned Aroldis Chapman, and he wasn’t even that great. I think the Pirates missed on trying to fill the spot or provide more competition via free agency or via trade. I’ll feel better about things if Bednar can convert his first 10 save opportunities without blowing one or two.

So, let’s not forget. The Pirates were not the worst team in the league. They were better than the White Sox, Rockies, Marlins, Angels, A’s, Nationals and Blue Jays.

After finishing 76-86 last season, I chalk up a couple games to errors. This year, I’m going to flip it and add a win. I predict the Pirates will go 87-75, staying in the wild-card hunt until the end.

A big thing that needs to change – there has to be more power. Not necessarily home runs, but more gaps and more extra-base hits will be critical.

The Pirates were fourth in the majors with 1,506 strikeouts. I’m not sure if Matt Hague and Daniel Vogelbach are the answers as the hitting coaches, but the 23rd-best hitting team isn’t going to cut it. The team average has to go up and we need to see the results immediately.

It’s all going to start tonight, here’s hoping for an improvement. The city and its fans deserve it.