Bob Nutting’s reputation for keeping the purse strings tight isn’t exactly a secret, and once again, he’s lived up to it. After a disastrous 2025 campaign that saw the Pittsburgh Pirates finish dead last in the NL Central with just 71 wins, fans were desperate for some real change this offseason. Instead, the same old questions are back on the table.

Chief among them: Are the Pirates wasting a generational arm like Paul Skenes by failing to surround him with comparable talent?

The expectation was clear. With Skenes arriving as a franchise cornerstone and the fanbase growing restless, this was supposed to be the winter where Nutting and Co. finally flipped the script. But so far, reality tells a different story.

Take Eugenio Suárez, for example.

The Pirates were widely seen as one of the frontrunners for the Venezuelan slugger. However, Suárez made a swift decision to join a division rival and his former team, the Cincinnati Reds, on a 1-year, $15 million deal. This miss has drawn sharp scrutiny to Pittsburgh. And the latest to chime in is none other than MLB World Series Champion AJ Pierzynski.

“For the Pirates, I’m sad. I’m sad that they did not get this done. I’m sad that there is collusion in the league that a player who has 49 home runs gets the exact same offer from multiple teams. I have a hard time believing they’re gonna find 30 home runs at third base to replace Eugenio Suárez. I’m just sad that the teams won’t put this extra money in to take that extra mile because I know as a player, you put everything you have into this season, and I can see it in Paul Skenes. You see it in him, the way he interacts. The way he’s like,’ We just have to be better.’ Eugenio would be incredible to add in that lineup,” Pierzynski noted.

Given his impressive history with the Reds, Geno chose a better offensive environment that favors right-handed power at the Great American Ball Park. But had Pittsburgh come up with something unique, things may have looked different.

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Suárez has previously spent seven years with the Reds (2015 – 2021). He had his breakout season in 2019, when he recorded 49 home runs in 159 games.

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One of his best moments that season was his 3rd home run of the season on April 11, 2019, against the Miami Marlins.

He was calm and ready to hit the ball at home plate. Then he clubbed a four-seam fastball from Sergio Romo into a solo home run to left field. The ball hit the top of the wall and then bounced over. With that, the Reds got a 5-0 lead. Suárez circled the bases and celebrated with the then third base coach, J.R. House, and outfielder Matt Kemp, while also thanking God.

Even Nick Kratz agreed that the Pirates made a huge mistake by not signing Eugenio this season.

“If they’re really interested in Geno Suarez, you have to go above and beyond. Right now, they’re trying to get away with it by just saying, ‘We tried, we tried, we tried.’ If you wanna get a guy like Geno Suarez, who wants to win and he wants to get paid, you gotta go above and beyond. The Pirates just aren’t doing that,” Kratz explained further.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have missed out on an impressive power hitter (.228 batting average) and third baseman in Eugenio Suárez. Geno could have been the 30-home run player that the team was looking for.

Last season, he was back at home plate against the Colorado Rockies when Ryan Rolison pitched an 85.0 mph slider. He belted it into a 389-foot home run to left field with a 96.2 mph exit velocity, marking his 300th career home run and the 2nd one of the game. It also put the Arizona Diamondbacks ahead with an 11-7 lead in the top of the 6th inning. With that, Geno became the 12th active MLB player to score 300 career home runs.

In 159 games last season, he recorded 49 home runs and 118 RBIs.

For a team that has an excellent pitcher like Paul Skenes (1.97 ERA), getting Eugenio Suárez would have helped the Pirates balance the roster. Maybe offer him something around a 2-year $42 million deal, as projected by Jordon Lawrenz of SI.

Now, the Pirates have been aggressive in acquiring new members like Brandon Lowe (via trade), Jhostynxon Garcia (via trade), and Ryan O’Hearn (2-year $29 million deal).

All of these seem all the more glaring after watching Paul Skenes highlighting the team’s struggles last season.

Paul Skenes highlights the Pirates’ struggles

The Pirates missed out on their postseason dreams for the tenth consecutive time. Now, Paul Skenes has talked about how difficult it is to deal with the team’s struggles.

“Not everything is within any other individual’s power. That’s how we get going a little bit. Just control what we can control on an individual level. That’s been my focus. That’s always been my focus.  That’s probably been a little bit more difficult this last month or so, but there’s nowhere else to go but to keep going. Just got to keep going,” Skenes stated.

Despite his excellent pitching skills, even Skenes dealt with performance struggles last season.

Notably, he got outdueled by George Kirby of the Seattle Mariners.

Skenes recorded 4 strikeouts and 9 whiffs over the first two innings. Compared to that, Kirby succeeded in recording 5 strikeouts and 8 whiffs.

But even then, his pitching skills are worth it all.

Last September, he showed his calm demeanor to dominate the Baltimore Orioles. He struck out 8 batters in 5 scoreless innings, also recording his 200th strikeout of the season.

In just 32 games, his ERA stood at 1.97 with 45 runs allowed.

But now that the Pirates have lost on Geno, it will be interesting to see what Bob Nutting does to strengthen Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates as a whole.