BRADENTON, Fla. (WWSB) – Tampa may have just had Gasparilla, but Bradenton is now officially “Pirate City” for the next several weeks.
Pitchers and catchers reported on Wednesday morning for what was the first official day of spring training for the 2026 season.
WWSB ABC7 News at 5pm
Pittsburgh is coming off a 71-91 mark last year, which placed them last in the National League Central division. Now the Pirates have a new skipper at the helm in Don Kelly, who had previously served as a bench coach with the team since December of 2019. Kelly is enthusiastic about his new role, and the potential for his team this season.
“It’s something that I will never take for granted,” Kelly said.
“Coming to spring training, especially this first day, you feel the energy. To be the major league manager is completely humbling, especially for my hometown team. When you think about the opportunity that we have in front of us, it’s exciting. We talked about the moves we were able to make. The expectations, you embrace them. It’s something that is exciting, looking forward to ‘26 Pirates baseball,” he added.
One of the pitchers that reported on Wednesday was Pirates’ ace Paul Skenes. Skenes is the reigning National League Cy Young award winner, and is optimistic about the new additions to his team and the level of competition at camp.
WWSB ABC7 News at Noon
“We probably have ten or fifteen starters in camp right now,” Skenes said.
“You know, looking forward to that competition. Everybody is going to be better off because of it. There’s nothing stopping us. The only thing that’s going to get in our way is ourselves,” he added.
The full team is expected to arrive for training camp on Monday, The first game of the spring training camp is Saturday, February 21st against the Baltimore Orioles.
Copyright 2026 WWSB. All rights reserved.