Pirates owner Bob Nutting: 'Incredibly important' to take advantage of playoff window

Now that the Pittsburgh Pirates have found a corporate partner to put a patch on their jerseys, club chairman Bob Nutting believes they soon could pull something out of their Sheetz-logo sleeves.

With Ke’Bryan Hayes, Bryan Reynolds and Mitch Keller signed to long-term contracts and rookie right-handers Jared Jones and Paul Skenes pitching at a high level, Nutting said it is “incredibly important” the Pirates take advantage of their window to become playoff contenders.

The Pirates (36-38) are a half-game out of contention for one of the three wild-card spots entering Friday’s three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays, and Nutting said general manager Ben Cherington has the green light to make moves to improve their chances.

“I think we’ve shown it’s attainable,” Nutting said. “You look at the results we’ve had from the mound, the pitching has been solid. We have some very strong pitchers who are performing well. We need more offense. We’re a bottom-performing team in offensive production. You know all that as much as I do. We’re fully aware of that.

“We know the areas where we need to improve. Some of that has to come from organic improvement from our players — has to — and we’ve seen a couple bounce-backs. We know that is true. How much of it comes from within the organization, from outside the organization is exactly what Ben’s working on.”

The Pirates are one of seven teams within a 1 1/2 games of a wild-card spot — which Nutting called a “really interesting, really exciting time” — and said they might not wait until MLB’s July 30 trade deadline to make a move to add another bat if they can find a suitable trade partner.

“I think we should be prepared to move early,” Nutting said. “I think we should be prepared to take advantage of opportunities when they arise. So I know Ben has that flexibility to look across a broader range of alternatives, options but also timeline of when it makes sense to strike.”

Nutting also dismissed the idea that the infusion of money from the three-year partnership with Sheetz announced Friday will have any impact on the Pirates’ decisions whether to spend to contend.

“Honestly, I think we would have the same flexibility before and after,” Nutting said. “We need to think longer term about how do you manage payroll, how do you make sure we’re prepared to take advantage of any window that is open, make sure that we’re prepared over the long term? At least from my seat, it’s a broader horizon.”