Over the last several years, the Pittsburgh Pirates have taken a steady beating from just about all sides. And they’ve earned it.

The Pirates have not made won a playoff game in twelve years, made the postseason in ten, had a winning season in seven, and have wasted the first two years of Paul Skenes’ MLB career.

Combine that with a team that perpetually sits in the basement of league spending and hasn’t signed a free agent to a multi-year deal since the Barack Obama administration, and you have a team that has certainly earned the negative reputation it has.

However, if we as a city, fan base, and media sphere are going to rag on them for all of the poor decisions they make, from financial commitments (or lack thereof), to front office management, to player personnel, we also have to give them credit for the times they actually do try.

This was a great trade for the Pirates.

On Friday afternoon, Pirates fans got an early Christmas gift when news broke that the team was acquiring second baseman Brandon Lowe as part of a three team trade involving Tampa Bay and Houston.

Lowe, an All Star last season and an eight-year big leaguer, slashed .256/.307/.477 (.785 OPS) last season with the Rays, finishing second on the team with 31 home runs and 83 RBI.

Career wise, Lowe carries an OPS north of .800, a rarity for a guy who will now dawn a Pirates uniform. He’s a power-hitting lefty who can benefit from playing half of his season at PNC Park, which generally favors lefty batters with a closer right field wall.

The second baseman immediately becomes one of the best bats the Pirates have in their lineup. Lowe’s stats from last year would have placed him first in home runs, first in RBI, second in OPS, fifth in batting average, and fourth in games played.

The 31-year-old appeared in 134 games, 121 of which came at second base. Manning the middle bag for the Rays, he had a .984 fielding percentage and led the major leagues with 86 double plays turned.

Although Lowe is only signed for one more year, and given the team’s track record, doesn’t have a high likelihood of sticking around, this is a huge boost to the 2026 club.

The Pirates reportedly had interest in Lowe during the Winter Meetings earlier this month, but they and the Rays couldn’t come to a deal during that time. Now, general manager Ben Cherington deal finally gets done.

And, the Pirates got even more.

Tagging along from Tampa is outfielder Jake Mangum, a 29-year-old late bloomer who played his first year in the big leagues last season.

In 118 games, Mangum slashed .296/.330/.368 (.698 OPS) with three home runs and 40 RBI. He doesn’t bring nearly as much power or experience as Lowe, but he’s an option the Pirates could explore in the outfield. He has at least 30 games under his belt in all three spots, and had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage from the grass.

Mangum is not the most exciting piece of the deal, but he’s not nothing.

In addition to him, the Pirates also landed Mason Montgomery. The reliever had a trying season on the mound for Tampa Bay last year, where he ended 46 innings worth of work to a 5.67 ERA, 1.652 WHIP, and a 2.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

There’s a lot to improve on there, but at only 25 years old, there’s plenty of time for him to find better form. Pittsburgh’s strength over the last couple years now has been developing and rehabbing pitchers. Remember, Dennis Santana had some pretty horrendous numbers when the Pirates claimed him off waivers. Now, he’s their closer.

Plus, Montgomery is a lefty, which the Pirates do not have a ton of in their bullpen mix right now. The team did ink a one-year deal with veteran Gregory Soto earlier in the offseason, but adding another lefty never hurts.

Heading out the door to Houston is Mike Burrows, a young righty who tossed 96 innings for the Pirates last season. He amassed a 3.94 ERA, 1.240 WHIP, and 3.13 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his age-25 season. He was mostly used as a starter, but occasionally played a long relief role later in the season.

At the time, it felt like maybe a sign that his spot in the rotation was not guaranteed this year. Burrows was heading into a competition that included arms like Bubba Chandler, Hunter Barco, Braxton Ashcraft, as well as established guys like Skenes and Mitch Keller.

Given his numbers, age, and cheap contract, it is a decent price to pay for some offensive upgrades. But Burrows, unfortunately for him, was kind of the odd man out in the young pitching crop the Pirates boast about.

Out of that group, Burrows is the guy you trade.

Cherington takes a lot of crap from both media and the fans, and just like the organization he is employed by, he’s earned it. He doesn’t have the pocketbook that the New York or Los Angeles markets do, but he’s failed plenty of times in the trade market.

At this time next year, maybe this trade doesn’t work either. Maybe Lowe struggles and leaves. Maybe Mangum regresses and ends up in Triple-A. Maybe a 5+ ERA is just who Montgomery is.

But this is exactly the kind of trade that fans have been desperate for Cherington to make. It deals from their position of strength, it upgrades their offense, and it shows that maybe, just maybe, there’s a reason to be hopeful for 2026.

Give the Pirates credit for at least that.