Nick

Fortes

The Pittsburgh Pirates stayed aggressive at the Winter Meetings after Kyle Schwarber’s blockbuster reunion with the Philadelphia Phillies became one of the week’s defining moments. With that pursuit gone, the Pirates didn’t slow down. Their posture had already shifted earlier in the offseason when they traded Johan Oviedo for top-100 outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia, a move that signaled a broader plan to retool with both upside and immediacy. Now, under the lights of the Meetings, that urgency has turned toward major-league help. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported that the Pirates reached out to the Tampa Bay Rays about Brandon Lowe, showing a clear push to add left-handed power before the market shifts again. It felt decisive. It felt calculated. And it underscored that missing on Schwarber didn’t soften their ambition: it intensified it.