The Pittsburgh Pirates haven’t had a winning season since 2018, but that could be about to change.

The Pirates added a lot to their roster this offseason, acquiring former All-Stars such as Gregory Soto, Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn and Marcell Ozuna. They also added a possible breakout candidate in Jhostynxon Garcia.

Pittsburgh also appears poised to get big contributions from Konnor Griffin and Bubba Chandler, two of the best prospects in baseball.

Accordingly, the Pirates are expected to take a major leap this year after going 71-91 and finishing last in the NL Central last season. In their preseason projections, FanGraphs gives them the second-best playoff odds in the division behind the Chicago Cubs.

FanGraphs is also projecting a winning record for Pittsburgh, which would be the first for the franchise in eight years. Its Depth Charts model has the Pirates going 82-80 this season, same as the Milwaukee Brewers and three wins behind the Cubs.

An 11-win improvement certainly seems possible for Pittsburgh, which increased its payroll by over 20% this winter. The Pirates already had one of the best pitching staffs in baseball last year, and now they have a much deeper lineup to go with it.

Armed with its strongest roster in years, Pittsburgh should be much better this year. The only question is how much?

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Wednesday marks the official start of spring training for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are coming off their most exciting offseason in years.

After assembling one of the best pitching staffs in baseball last year, the Pirates focused on improving their offense this winter. While they missed out on a few of their top targets like Kyle Schwarber and Eugenio Suarez, they still landed three former All-Stars in Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn and Marcell Ozuna, giving their lineup a major boost.

They also acquired former top prospect Jhostynxon Garcia from the Boston Red Sox, who has star potential. Throw in Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds and the expected debut of MLB’s No. 1 prospect Konnor Grifin, and Pittsburgh’s offense looks legitimately dangerous this year.

Meanwhile, the Pirates are in good shape on the mound after ranking seventh in ERA last year. Reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes leads a staff full of young, talented arms.

Bolstered by a record-high payroll, Pittsburgh has its most complete team in years. FanGraphs agrees, giving the Pirates their highest preseason playoff odds since the site started publishing them in 2016.

FanGraphs gives Pittsburgh a 42.5% chance of making the postseason this year. Not only is that the second-highest mark in the NL Central behind the Chicago Cubs (62.1%), but it’s also more than double last year’s preseason odds of 20.3%.

The Pirates also have the second-best odds to win the division at 24.0%, behind the Cubs’ 43.7%.

It’s surprising to see Pittsburgh ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers, who won 26 more games than them last year. Still, it’s encouraging that FanGraphs’ projection model believes the Pirates are a playoff-caliber team, giving them a good chance to reach the postseason for the first time since 2015.

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