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The Pirates have operated under one clear assumption: stay in the race, then fix the bullpen at the trade deadline. But what if the help they need is not actually out there?
On today’s OffBeat, Alex Stumpf looks at a crowded deadline market, the lack of obvious sellers, and why relievers like Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock, Luke Weaver, Félix Bautista, Jason Adam, A.J. Minter, Kirby Yates, Kyle Finnegan and others may either cost too much or simply not be realistic fits. The Pirates need external bullpen help if they want to make the postseason, but this market could make that much harder than expected.
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"What If the Pirates Bullpen Help Isn’t Coming?" is an episode of North Shore Nine: A Pittsburgh Pirates Podcast. Runtime 16 min. Published July 7, 2026. Hit play above to stream it here, or open the free Spot Sports app for background play and offline downloads.