PITTSBURGH – How could this happen?

How could the Pittsburgh Pirates not know their second-round pick would decline to sign a contract? How could general manager Ben Cherington not know? How could director of amateur scouting Jason Horowitz not know?

Yet right-hander Angel Cervantes posted on social media on Wednesday that he has committed to playing collegiately at UCLA in his native Southern California. The 17-year-old Cervantes shut down negotiations five days before the July 28 signing deadline.

Perhaps it’s just a negotiating ploy by Cervantes. Maybe the Pirates want to use the money they will save by not signing Cervantes next year, when the draft class is likely to be more talented.

What is certain is the number of texts I received from people in the baseball world on Wednesday night. They all wanted to know how the Pirates – an organization that says its only chance to win consistently is with strong scouting and player development – could whiff on the 50th pick?

It is a dereliction of duty by both Cherington and Horowitz not to know there was a chance Cervantes would go to college.

It’s OK to gamble on a high school player in the ninth round and not sign him. For it to happen in the second round is inexcusable.

I wrote two weeks ago that Cherington was likely to return in 2026 despite this year’s debacle of a season.

However, according to industry and team sources, the situation has changed. Nutting is having second thoughts about retaining Cherington after the Pirates lost 11 of 12 games before their improbable three-game series sweep of the American League Central-leading Detroit Tigers that ended Wednesday with a 6-1 win at PNC Park.

Nutting is said to be a more frequent visitor to the ballpark this season, trying to ascertain why the Pirates have a 42-61 record during a season in which they entered with postseason aspirations. Some people in MLB’s central office are also growing increasingly frustrated with one of the sport’s oldest franchises being consistently uncompetitive, with the Pirates on their way to a 29th losing season in 33 years.

Nutting gets portrayed as cheap, and rightfully so, as the Pirates perennially have one of the lowest payrolls in MLB. However, this season’s failure isn’t all his fault.

According to sources with direct knowledge of the situation, Nutting raised the baseball operations’ budget by $20 million at the end of last season. Cherington opted to spend a significant portion of that money on analytics and technology rather than acquiring players.

Analytics are helpful and can aid in evaluating players. Technology is also lovely and can be used to help players improve their performance.

However, good players win ballgames, not spreadsheets and sensors.

The Pirates don’t have enough good players to compete even though Cherington is more than halfway into his sixth season on the job. His rebuild has turned into a dead end, and there is little hope that things will improve next season.

And now the Pirates haven’t signed their second-round pick even though it is a low-budget franchise that can only thrive by getting significant contributions from homegrown players before they become unaffordable.

I liked the hiring of Cherington at the end of the 2019 season. I thought he could build a winner in Pittsburgh.

However, Cherington continues to make one mistake after another. The famously patient Nutting appears to have just about had enough.