At this time last year, the Pirates were looking at the second half of the season through a different lens than they are now.

They were sitting at .500, had their sights set on buying at the trade deadline and there was a feeling around the team that a playoff run could be on the horizon. A dreadful 8-19 August dashed any hopes of playing playoff baseball, and now the team is in an even worse place a year later, sitting 18.5 games behind the first-place Cubs in the National League Central division.

The Pirates return to PNC Park for the first time in over two weeks when they host the White Sox this weekend to open up the second half of the Major League Baseball season. And rather than looking at the upcoming trade deadline with a buyers’ mentality and eyeing the second half of the schedule with playoff aspirations, they’re in a position at 39-58 — a nine-win difference compared to their 48-48 mark at the break last year — where they’re looking to simply put together better results over their final 65 games. 

Here are five things to watch during the second half of the Pirates’ season: 

• Finishing strong for Kelly: The Pirates are inevitably heading toward a 10th consecutive season without a playoff appearance. They’re projected to finish with just 70 wins and hold a zero percent chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs projections. But, as much as it might seem like it considering the consistent losing, it’s not like the players are looking at the remainder of their schedule with the mindset of simply coasting to the finish. 

There’s been an obvious difference in their level of play under Don Kelly, who is 27-32 since taking over for Derek Shelton in early May. They recently went on a season-high six-game winning streak during their last homestand and, despite losing eight of nine during the subsequent road trip, they finished the first half with a 7-8 record in their final 15 games. 

Kelly has received nothing but positive reviews from his players for the way he’s handled things since taking over, and a strong second half finish would be huge for Kelly’s chances of coming back as manager to begin the 2026 season. 

• Skenes’ continued dominance: A better way of looking at the second half is by focusing more on individual performances.

Paul Skenes is worth the price of admission and is worthy of the attention down the stretch, despite the constant lack of run support and losing decisions. Sure, his workload was monitored over his final few starts heading into the All-Star break, but Skenes remains a favorite in the race for the National League Cy Young Award. 

Skenes, who is 4-8 with a 2.01 ERA and 0.93 WHIP over 20 starts this season, is looking to be the first Pirates pitcher since Doug Drabek in 1990 to earn that award. A better win-loss record certainly wouldn’t hurt, but that might not be the reason why he wins or loses. Skenes is a must-see attraction, and is among the MLB’s best in most pitching categories. He’ll continue to give fans a reason to tune in. 

• Bubba’s arrival: It seems inevitable that Bubba Chandler will be in a Pirates uniform by the end of the season.

Chandler has had an up-and-down season with Class AAA Indianapolis, but his overall numbers — 4-2 record, 2.82 ERA, 93 strikeouts in 73 1/3 innings over 18 starts — certainly warrant a promotion. If a guy on a one-year deal like Andrew Heaney is indeed traded at the upcoming deadline, Chandler seems like a logical fit to slot right into the big-league rotation and make his highly-anticipated major-league debut

• Pitching staff continues to do its part: Skenes and Chandler are two pitchers worth watching in the second half, but they’re not alone.

In the grand scheme of things, the pitching staff isn’t to blame for the Pirates’ lack of success. More often than not, the pitchers have done their part. The staff as a whole ranks 10th in MLB in team ERA (3.73), sixth in batting average against (.234) and third in WHIP (1.20). 

The pitchers are keeping the team in games and, despite there being some reported trade noise surrounding the likes of Mitch Keller, David Bednar, Dennis Santana and Caleb Ferguson, the organization should have enough pitching depth to continue the staff’s positive trajectory.

• Offense can’t get any worse, right?: I mean, it probably could, but it’ll be worth seeing how individuals perform during the second half. 

Stronger performances from guys like Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz would certainly go a long way. Both have an immense amount of talent and are capable of more. But let’s face it, they were part of the problem during a disastrous first half in which the offense ranked 27th in MLB in batting average (.230), 29th in OPS (.639) and dead-last in home runs (66) and runs scored (326). 

The Pirates would certainly like to see the same encouraging production from Nick Gonzales — .265 average and .743 OPS over 35 games — at the plate and should want to see more from Henry Davis, who has improved behind the plate without any real consistent growth offensively. Giving him more consistent at-bats to see if he can find some sort of spark might be wise.

Given that the Pirates should be sellers in a rather active trade deadline, opportunities may exist for both external additions, including recently-acquired Cam Devanney, and internal contributors, too. Guys like Nick Yorke, Billy Cook and perhaps even Ronny Simon, who is hitting .277 with six home runs and 20 RBIs in 30 games with Class AAA Indianapolis, could benefit from chances to show their value in meaningless games down the stretch. Regardless of who it is, there will be playing time to go around. And it’s worth monitoring these players to determine whether they could realistically be a part of the mix moving forward.