Pittsburgh Pirates 2025 Second Half What to Watch For

S. Samek

Earlier we talked about how the first half of the Pittsburgh Pirates season went in 2025. Now we can focus a bit more on the second half of the season and what to watch for this next stretch of the season.

Paul Skenes is the obvious first choice here. Though there is lots of reasons to watch him during the second half. Skenes is a Cy Young contender, even if the record is a bit rocky. However, will the Pirates consider limiting the workload of Skenes in the second half of the season even if he is in the Cy Young race? It could be worth keeping an eye on. It’s also worth watching to see if the offense can finally get him some run support and hopefully improve the record.

I think the second think to watch for is the upcoming trade deadline and how involved the team will be. They have no shortage of trade pieces like Mitch Keller, David Bednar, Dennis Santana, Ke’Bryan Hayes and even Bryan Reynolds has all been brought up in trade discussions. Though are they willing to part with them? How much will teams be willing to pay for those pieces. It should be interesting to see how much of the team is different and how much is the same come August first.

Third thing to watch out for will Don Kelly be managing this team next year, or not? I think will a strong performance maybe a .500 or better record for the half he should be in consideration to return. If they continue to struggle it looks like there will be a new manager for them in 2026.

Next up to watch would be what top prospects will we see called up. Bubba Chandler still hasn’t been called up this season after entering the season on call-up watch basically counting down the days till he arrives. He has been fighting through some struggles during the month of June yet has been good in July. Popular take is that Chandler maybe called up to take over a rotation spot if someone is traded. Could other top prospects follow Chandler to the big leagues? I’m excited to see who makes the jump to the majors, even if it’s just for a September call.

Another interesting thing to watch is the all-time franchise record. After being swept by the White Sox this past weekend, it fell to 10,879-10,880. This is the first time sense 1903 they have fallen below .500 as a franchise. Can they win enough games to keep the record above the line, or how far will it drop below .500 with more losing baseball?

Hoping for a better second half for this team. Yet even if they continue to lose, they at least have something to watch for.