Bob Nutting has been branded the ‘worst owner’ in baseball for years. For an owner defined by fan protests and calls to sell the team, he is making an uncharacteristic bet.

In an interview with DK Pittsburgh Sports, Nutting said, “Most of the team has been built over time. It’s not an overnight patch-it-together in one off-season. It takes real time to build that foundation… Every year, our expectation should be postseason and win a World Series. I think it is a realistic expectation this year.”

Since Bob Nutting took over the team in 2007, the Pirates have had only 4 winning seasons and 3 playoff appearances. And the furthest they could make it is the NLDS in 2013, where they lost 3-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Not only that, but his offseason decisions have surprised many fans.

He missed out on some big-name players like Kyle Schwarber, who could have made this team better than what it is now.

With such a bad record, fans are starting to question every aspect of the team. Even Nutting, himself, acknowledged the scenario.

“I see a fanbase that cares deeply about this team. It’s heavily invested in the team. Last year, it appropriately came out as disappointment and anger cause we weren’t delivering the team that they deserve.”

Last year, the Pirates had 117 homers and finished last on the list. Finishing 5th in the NL Central, they stood at 71-91, with a .231 batting average.

Yet Nutting now believes years of drafting players like Mitch Keller created a stable base. He pointed to a homegrown rotation and offseason additions as reasons for renewed confidence. And most of it revolves around Paul Skenes and Konnor Griffin.

“Konnor’s an amazing baseball player, an amazing young man. He’s 19 years old, so I couldn’t be more excited to have him here with us, simply for what he’ll contribute to the team. He’s a remarkable character, the person behind the player. That leadership ability, he’s gonna reflect what we need in a player in Pittsburgh. He’s exactly the kind of person that we should make a bet on for a long-term deal,” Nutting expressed his confidence in the interview.

The Pirates signed Konnor Griffin for a massive 9-year, $140M deal as his first major league contract. And baseball’s most highly touted prospect has already shown his worth in his Friday afternoon debut.

Batting seventh in front of a 38,986 crowd at PNC Park, Griffin smashed an RBI double in the first at-bat of his big league career, opening the scoring in his club’s four-run second inning. The Pirates’ 5-4 win against the Baltimore Orioles had a lot to do with that.

This 5-tool player slashed .438/.571/.625 in his five games this season with Triple-A Indianapolis before coming to the majors. In 122 games last year, he hit .333 with 21 home runs, 94 RBIs, and 65 stolen bases, and became Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year.

And he has Paul Skenes to back his skills.

Skenes has already delivered ace-level results and also won the Cy Young in 2025, proving that he is the best in the league. Even after having a tough opening day, Skenes bounced back on Wednesday, pitching 5 innings and giving away just 1 run. He recorded his first win of 2026 in an 8-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in front of 15,007 at Great American Ball Park.

Bob Nutting sees Paul Skenes as the anchor who can carry the team deep into October.

“Paul Skenes is an incredibly talented pitcher, incredibly impactful. You can see that in the way he has interacted with me as he tried to make the entire organization better… I think those are the kind of players who can have an incredible impact on the organization.”

This Wednesday, Skenes tossed 77 pitches (51 strikes) and lowered his season ERA from 67.50 to 9.53. He is a veteran at just 23. He’s already a team leader that the Pirates can only respect.

Skenes volunteered to assist general manager Ben Cherington this offseason to call potential free agents. His input was considered when the Pirates moved on from former pitching coach Oscar Marin and hired Bill Murphy. In fact, Manager Don Kelly listens to Skenes’ thoughts on scheduling.

Now, with both Griffin and Skenes in black and gold, the idea is to grow Griffin into a centerpiece bat and have Paul Skenes in the pitching department.

Looking ahead, Nutting aims to win the World Series, but is it realistic? The Pirates have a payroll of around $102M, and Bob Nutting says that he wants to compete for the World Series.

Bob Nutting expects the Pirates to go all the way in 2026

Bob Nutting expressed optimism before the home opener, saying that the clubhouse and the players are high on belief this season.

He pointed to a stronger roster for 2026 with the addition of Konnor Griffin, but they haven’t changed much from the 2025 season.

But the start to this season has been good with a 4-3 record and beating the Orioles 5-4 in their first home game. But fans remember how they had a major collapse, winning 8 and losing 20 games.

Bob Nutting described a long-term build, highlighting pitching depth developed over several rebuilding seasons. The Pirates, however, earned a total of 598 runs in 2025. That placed it outside the top ten and away from the teams that made the postseason.

The Pirates do have good prospects, but none of them have been tested. And with the Pirates refusing to spend money to build the team, the prospects might not want to stay back.

While optimism exists, playoff teams usually cross 90 wins, a mark the Pirates have not reached since 2015. So even with progress and belief, a World Series run still feels several seasons away.