The MLB trade deadline is just a little over a month away, and as the losses continue to pile up for the Pirates, the odds get higher every day that the team will head into the deadline with a seller’s mindset.

That’s disappointing for almost any major league team. It’s infuriating for a team six years into a rebuild. It’s borderline disgraceful for a team rostering Paul Skenes.

And yet, the Pirates fit all three of those categories.

But setting aside the upsetting reality that the Pirates will sell off players and punt on another season, the Pirates cannot allow general manager Ben Cherington run another trade deadline.

Cherington has been the general manager since November of 2019. He has overseen five and a half seasons of Pirates baseball and is weeks away from overseeing his sixth trade deadline in charge of the club.

His last two trade deadlines alone should be grounds for a new set of eyes taking over at the deadline.

Over the last two seasons, we’ve seen Cherington approach the two deadlines vey different ways, and no matter which way he operates, the deadline is a complete loss for Pittsburgh.