The Pittsburgh Pirates ended their 2025 season in a familiar and frustrating last place in the NL Central with a 71-91 record, which was even worse than their 2024 season, and haven’t had a winning season since 2018. Yet, in the middle of this mess, Paul Skenes was so dominant that he is the runaway favorite to win the NL Cy Young award with a 1.97 ERA and 10-10 record. This stark contrast is a baffling paradox, and Pirates owner Bob Nutting has received criticism from fans and media several times for that, which he has never countered. Now, for the first time, we are getting the answer from inside the clubhouse.

In an end-of-season report, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette revealed the true feelings of players inside the Pirates’ locker room, where one anonymous player delivered a true assessment of the team’s situation. “People think we’re underachieving,” the player told the Post-Gazette back in May. “Look around here. We’re playing to our potential. This is what $90 million gets you.” It was a direct shot at owner Bob Nutting and his famously low payroll.

“Some of the teams we play aren’t even trying to win,” the same player noted. “They’re rebuilding but still have a higher payroll than us.” He finished by saying, “What do you think that tells us?” It tells the players that Bob Nutting simply does not care enough to compete.

And the team’s final $89,975,500 payroll, per Cot’s Contract is just over the Miami Marlins’ $68.9 million, the White Sox’s $74 million, the Athletics’ $78.2 million, and the Tampa Bay Rays’ $82.9 million, which proves the players’ statement.

This lack of spending created a baseball tragedy: the wasting of Paul Skenes. The young ace had a historic season with a sparkling 1.97 ERA. And all he did after posting a 1.96 ERA in his rookie season over 20 starts, where he had an 11-3 record.

On the other hand, the Pirates finished last in runs scored, home runs, and slugging percentage. It can happen to any team. However, what stings most is that a serious franchise would likely see this generational talent and invest money to support him. Still, the Pirates signed a few aging veterans, Andrew McCutchen and Tommy Pham, on cheap, one-year deals. And to make these things worse, despite having a top-10 pitching staff, the front office fired their pitching coach, Oscar Marin, and is reportedly listening to trade offers for another top pitcher, Mitch Keller.

And frustration goes far beyond the team’s unwillingness to spend

According to players, the organization’s lack of commitment is evident in its failure to address the most basic needs. Earlier this season, multiple Pirates hitters were struggling to see the ball during afternoon games at PNC Park, and they made a simple, reasonable request to management to paint the batter’s eye black.

A batter’s eye is the dark, non-distracting surface behind center field and almost always in a dark color, as its entire purpose is to help hitters see the pitch clearly.

For a team with the worst offense in baseball, which ranked 28th out of 30 teams in batting average with a .231 BA and last in the league in slugging percentage (.350), runs scored (583), runs per game (3.6), and RBIs (561), you would think this would be an easy fix. Ownership’s response? A flat-out “No.” The request was denied.

The problems didn’t stop there. Hiles’s report also revealed that players felt they were playing on backdated land, which lacked the modern information and technology needed to properly game plan against opposing pitchers.

“Some players claimed the Pirates lacked information and technology to help adequately game plan for opposing pitchers, resources that were available during their time with other major league clubs,” Hiles reported.

So, when you refuse to pay for players and also refuse to meet the minimum requirements, such as paint or scouting tech, the message becomes crystal clear. This isn’t about being a small-market team trying its best because teams like the Milwaukee Brewers have played the best baseball in the league over the years with nearly $20 million more payroll than the Pirates; it’s about a lack of commitment from an ownership group that is completely uninterested in the success of its team despite of their limitless profit and fans’ support thanks to MLB’s revenue sharing.