Pirates bullpen has been shaky at times to start the 2026 MLB season

The Pittsburgh Pirates came into 2026 with high expectations on their pitching staff, and while their starting rotation has lived up to them, the bullpen has been very shaky to start the season.

The Pirates bullpen has an ERA of around 3.68, which is up there for being the best in the National League. However, that stat could be deceiving with how inconsistent some of the top reliever guys have been for Pittsburgh.

The Bucs bullpen have allowed 85 hits, which is tied for third in the National League. They also allowed 11 home runs which is also  tied for third in the national league.

Outside of Dennis Santana and Gregory Soto, the bullpen has been looking a little light and inconsistent at times.

Pittsburgh’s bullpen problems became obvious in their series vs. the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, April 10-12, where the starting pitching was strong, but the bullpen issued too many walks and blew two leads in the final two games of that series.

The Pirates bullpen walked 15 batters over their 12.2 innings for a 10.66 BB/9 with five earned runs.

There is a lot of potential for this bullpen to be really good. Pittsburgh called up both Evan Sisk and Wilber Dotel, who are two young guys with a lot of promise. We have also seen some highlights from Yohan Ramirez, Mason Montgomery, and Issac Mattson.

By no means has the bullpen been terrible, but they have cost the Pirates a handful of games this season, which cannot happen down the stretch of the season, especially in the NL Central where all five teams have a winning record.

The starting pitching has been really good so far as expected for the Buccos but it’s now time for the relief pitching to be equally dominant and back them up. Starters cannot always be excpected to save the day.

There have been some good showings from the bullpen in 2026, but far too often, they’ve had issues that the Pirates can’t have if they want to make the MLB postseason.