For years now, the Pittsburgh Pirates have not been a team that has given any kind of competition to the top teams. And fans blame owner Bob Nutting for this and also branded him as the “worst owner” in the league. And even protested at the stadium to get him to sell the team. But it looks like Nutting has started to turn the corner.

In an interview with DK Pittsburgh Sports, Nutting said, “Most of the team has been built over time. It’s not an overnight patch-it-together in one off-season… so every year our expectation should be to postseason and win a World Series. I think it is a realistic expectation this year.”

For years, Bob Nutting has been labeled as baseball’s “Worst Owner,” and fans see this as a right fit because of how he handles the team. Since taking over the team in 2007, the Pirates have had only 4 winning seasons and 3 playoff appearances. And the furthest they could make it is the NLDS in 2013, where they lost 3-2 to the Cardinals.

Not only that, but his decisions in the offseason have surprised many fans. He missed out on some big-name players like Kyle Schwarber, who could have made this team better than what it is now.

With such a bad record, the fans are starting to question every aspect of the team. Last year, the Pirates had 117 homers and finished last on the list. Against quality teams, the Pirates could not compete as the offense could simply not back up the pitching.

Yet Nutting now believes years of drafting players like Mitch Keller created a stable base. He points to a homegrown rotation and offseason additions as reasons for renewed confidence.

But right now, everything revolves around Paul Skenes and Konnor Griffin. Paul Skenes has already delivered ace-level results and also won the Cy Young in 2025, proving that he is the best in the league. Even after having a tough opening day, Skenes bounced back in the next game, pitching 5 innings and giving away just 1 run.

Bob Nutting sees Paul Skenes as the anchor who can carry the team deep into October.

To back him, the Pirates have signed Konnor Griffin. The Pirates signed Griffin for a massive 9-year, $140M deal as his first major league contract. The idea is to grow Griffin into a centerpiece bat and have Paul Skenes in the pitching department.

Bob Nutting believes that both these players are the future cornerstones of the team. This shows that he is not going to be willing to sell these players to other teams. And selling such talent would put them years behind other teams.

Looking ahead, Nutting aims to win the World Series, but is it realistic? The Pirates have a payroll of around $102M, and Bob Nutting says that he wants to compete for the World Series.

Bob Nutting expects the Pirates to go all the way in 2026

Bob Nutting expressed optimism before the home opener, saying that the clubhouse and the players are high on belief this season.

He pointed to a stronger roster for 2026 with the addition of Konnor Griffin, but they haven’t changed much from the 2025 season, where they finished 71-91.

But the start to this season has been good with a 4-3 record and beating the Orioles 5-4 in their first home game. But fans remember how they had a major collapse, winning 8 and losing 20 games.

Bob Nutting described a long-term build, highlighting pitching depth developed over several rebuilding seasons. The Pirates, however, earned a total of 598 runs in 2025. That placed it outside the top ten and away from the teams that made the postseason.

The Pirates do have good prospects, but none of them are tested, and with the Pirates refusing to spend money to build the team, the prospects might not want to stay back.

While optimism exists, playoff teams usually cross 90 wins, a mark the Pirates have not reached since 2015. So even with progress and belief, a World Series run still feels several seasons away.