North Shore Nine

The 2026 arbitration projections are out, and as always, they’ve sparked plenty of debate around who the Pirates should keep — and who might be wearing a different uniform next year. On tonight’s episode of North Shore Nine Live, we broke down every name on MLB Trade Rumors’ projected list and what it means for Pittsburgh’s offseason outlook.

At the center of the conversation was Oneil Cruz, projected to earn $3.6 million. We both agreed he’s worth bringing back, but it’s getting hard to ignore how exhausting the roller coaster can be. There’s still elite talent and game-changing upside there, but the patience is wearing thin. Still, in this market, his ceiling is impossible to give up on just yet.

Beyond Cruz, there were plenty of tough calls — from Joey Bart’s $2.7M and whether he’s done enough to justify that number, to Colin Holderman’s $1.7M and Jack Suwinski’s $1.7M as potential buy-low bounce-back bets. We went back and forth on a few of them, and honestly, our opinions may change the deeper we get into the winter.

That’s the reality of this stage for the Pirates: there are no easy answers. Every arbitration decision ties into how the front office plans to build (and spend) heading into 2026.

Catch the full discussion on YouTube — and let us know in the comments which players you’d bring back.