Another Major League Baseball season has come and gone, and this time around, the Pittsburgh Pirates find themselves out of the playoffs for the first time in three years. In those past three years, the month of October has been known as “Buctober,” but that’s not the case this year. This team had very high expectations and due to many factors, they just didn’t come through this year. Whether it was the pitching, the plate appearances, or everything in between, this highly talented baseball club just could not execute this year.

As solid as the pitching staff had been in past years, it was absolutely abysmal this year. The starting rotation was extremely inconsistent. Not only with its performance, but with the names that were in it. The guys that had underperformed the most were the likes of Jeff Locke, the now traded Francisco Liriano, and surprisingly, the man that was considered the ace of the staff, Gerrit Cole. Injuries are what held Cole back, but even when he was healthy, it seemed like he wasn’t at the top of his game. As for Locke, he has been the most atrocious piece of the rotation for years, and this year he was finally sent to the bullpen. Thank the Lord. Liriano was also a veteran that the Pirates were looking to be in the top half of the rotation, but he did not perform like he had in past years. His underwhelming 2016 campaign with the Buccos earned him a one way ticket to Toronto. However, there were some bright spots in the rotation. The emergence of rookies Jameson Taillon, Chad Kuhl, and Tyler Glasnow who all had good outings this year is a positive going into next year. The acquisition of veteran Ivan Nova might have been one of the best deadline moves in baseball. He pitched like a man possessed for the second half of 2016, and hopefully the Pirates can retain him for next season. Out of Nova. Cole, Taillon, Kuhl, and Glasnow, one of them needs to emerge as the true ace next year so that this rotation can be feared once again.

Sticking with the theme of pitching, the bullpen also had an underwhelming year. At the beginning of the season, they were led all-star closer Mark Melancon. By the end of the year however, Melancon was in Washington and the bullpen was looking for its identity. Melancon had been traded to the Nationals for two bullpen pieces that just could not get the job done. Tony Watson seemed like a good pick as the new closer, but he wasn’t nearly as impactful as Mark the Shark. The bullpen really needs to regroup and become The Shark Tank once more if they look to help the team next year.

The batting lineup looked to be a solid one this season. What many considered to be the best outfield in baseball was looking to wreak havoc on the league this year, but with an underwhelming campaign of former NL MVP Andrew McCutchen, it wasn’t as dominant as it was expected to be. Gregory Polanco had a great first half of the season, but he slowed down after the All-Star Break. Starling Marte was really the star in the lineup this year as he was the only man to post a batting average of 300 or greater. Former utility man Josh Harrison also didn’t make the impact that he should’ve this year as he was finding his new home at second base. As well as Harrison, infielder Jung Ho Kang struggled throughout the season, but he did pick it up near the end of the year. The Pirates’ bats will really need to heat up next year if they look to make a return to the postseason.

This team does have a lot of potential for success, but everything must come together for them to go back to their winning ways. The Pirates need to make improvements across the board during the offseason to make sure their impact player stay as impactful as they should be. The World Series could very well be in their future if all goes as planned for the 2017 campaign.