“Teams To Remember” follows iterations of Pittsburgh teams throughout the years, and what made the memorable, whether those reasons be good or bad. In today’s edition, the 2018 Pittsburgh Pirates.

It’s been five years since the Pittsburgh Pirates fielded a winning team, and given how the few seasons after that went, it feels like a lot longer ago. 

The 2018 Pirates were a unique group, a young team built in part by the Pirates organization deciding to tear things down and rebuild (again). 

During the offseason, the Pirates had traded multiple franchise legends for bundles of young or developing players. 

Pittsburgh had first traded ace pitcher Gerrit Cole to the Houston Astros for young pitchers Michael Feliz and Joe Musgrove, along with outfielder Jason Martin and third baseman Colin Moran. 

Two days later, they traded Andrew McCutchen to the San Francisco Giants for outfielder Bryan Reynolds, pitcher Kyle Crick, and international bonus slot money. 

Amongst many other offseason moves, the Pirates acquired outfielder Corey Dikcerson, who was an All Star the season prior. This was also the offseason where Pittsburgh signed current Pirate Ji Hwan Bae. 

With the major sell offs that the Pirates had made, it would have been reasonable to assume that Pittsburgh was in for a particularly rough season. It was a somewhat pleasant surprise to see the Pirates put together a decent season in 2018. 

The Pirates had kicked off the 2018 season with a roaring start, getting out to a 9-3 record. Starting pitcher Trevor Williams was credited with three of those wins, helping lead him to what would be arguably the best season of his career and definitely his best as a Pirate. 

Several mini losing streaks would bring the Pirates back down to earth, pulling them to just three games above .500 at the start of May. 

They were able to turn things back around in the middle of May, rocketing back up in the standings and on May 17th, being atop the NL Central. This, however, would be the last day of the season that the Pirates would be leading the division. 

By the end of May, they were in a no better spot than they were to end April, and the month of June would take a toll on the Pirates, sinking them below .500. They ended the month with a 39-43 on the season, and their struggles would bleed into the first part of July. 

On July 10th, the Pirates stood at 42-49, and things were looking dire. The Pirates, however, somehow found a way to rally and ripped off an ELEVEN game winning streak to propel them back above .500. 

In hindsight, that amazing winning streak helped set the franchise back years. 

That winning streak had convinced the Pirates that they had a legitimate shot at a postseason berth in 2018, an idea that seemed laughable just mere weeks before. 

At the 2018 trade deadline on July 31st, the Pirates were serious buyers, acquiring starting pitcher Chris Archer and relief pitcher Keone Kela in two separate trades. 

Pittsburgh paid serious prices at the deadline for the faint hope that they could break through in the extremely crowded playoff race. 

To acquire Kela, the Pirates sent minor league pitcher Taylor Hearn and infelder Sherten Apostel (who was named later) to the Texas Rangers. 

And of course, we all remember the haul that the Tampa Bay Rays acquired for Archer. The Pirates sent outfielder Auston Meadows, starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow, and relief pitcher Shane Baz (who was named later). 

The Pirates would go on to regret shipping out Meadows and Glasnow, who would have been massively beneficial to the team’s ongoing rebuild. 

The trade’s awful outcome for Pittsburgh would only be magnified by Archer’s disappointing (and short) campaign as a Pirate. 

A week later, the Pirates also acquired veteran infielder Adeiny Hechavarría, but he spent mere weeks with the team before they sent him off to the New York Yankees, where he would become teammates with Andrew McCutchen, who was also traded to the Yankees on the same day. 

Pittsburgh would also deal veteran David Freese to the Los Angeles Dodgers as well. 

Prior to 2019, trades could still take place following the MLB trade deadline if a player had cleared revocable trade waivers. 

By the end of August, the buzz that the Pirates were feeling was quickly dying, and they had fallen below .500 again, ending the month 66-69. 

That faint playoff hope was fleeting as the Pirates hoped they could regroup in September. A five game win streak had boosted the Pirates to 71-71, and a separate five game win streak two weeks later had brought Pittsburgh to 77-74, but at this point in the season, it was too little too late. 

Divisional rivals had gotten out well ahead of the Pirates towards the end of the season, and on September 23rd, the Cardinals’ win over the Giants had officially eliminated the Pirates from playoff contention. Coincidentally, the Pirates played one of their worst games of the season that night in a 13-6 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. 

The Pirates, despite yet another season without the playoffs, would be able to finish the season above .500, winning four of their final seven to end the 2018 season 82-79. 

A previously postponed game due to rain between the Pirates and Miami Marlins was canceled after both teams were eliminated from playoff contention. 

Trevor Williams led all starting pitchers with a 3.11 ERA, and tied with Jameson Taillon for 14 wins on the year. Taillon would go on to far and away lead the team in strikeouts, with 179. 

Corey Dickerson, in his only full year as a Pirate, would go on to lead the team in batting average amongst starters, batting an even .300 for the Pirates. 

Gregory Polanco, at the height of his role with the Pirates, led the way in many other categories, including home runs, with 23, and slugging percentage at .499. He also led the team in runs batted in with 81. Starling Marte, however, would lead the team in total hits, with 155. 

Pitcher Kyle Crick and third baseman Colin Moran, from the McCutchen and Cole trades respectively, both had solid years for Pittsburgh. 

Crick recorded a team low 2.39 ERA as a relief pitcher, while Moran tallied a .277 batting average, which was tied with Starling Marte and Adam Frazier for second best on the team. 

The 2018 season would mark the last winning Pirates season to date, and the last time the Pirates had any real optimism for a potential postseason appearance, no matter how faint that hope might have been. The following year, the team went 69-93, which brought to an end Clint Hurdle’s near-decade long run as the Pirates’ manager. 

The 2019 season also saw Dickerson traded to Philadelphia, where he also became teammates with Andrew McCutchen, who had signed in Philly during the offseason. 

Pitchers like Crick and Williams also could not replicate the success they had just a year prior. 

Following 2019, the Pirates played the 2021 and 2022 seasons with 100 losses, and played the 60-game 2020 season at a 100-loss pace. 

(Photo by Dennis Wierzbicki)