2016 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the franchise's 135th season overall, the 130th season as a member of the National League, and the 16th season at PNC Park. The regular season started with a win at home against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 3 and ended with a loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium on October 2. The Pirates finished the regular season third in the National League Central with 78 wins, 83 losses and one tie. For the first time since the 2012 season, the Pirates finished with a losing record and did not qualify for the postseason.
Two members of the 2016 Pirates were selected to represent the National League in the All-Star Game: pitcher Mark Melancon and outfielder Starling Marte. In addition, two players were named NL Player of the Week: infielder Jung-ho Kang and utility player Sean Rodriguez, both in September.

Season standings

Detailed records

Month	Games	Won	Lost	Win %
April	24	15	9		128	109
May	27	14	13		130	115
June	28	9	19		106	154
July	24	14	10		107	96
August	28	15	13		122	111
September	28	11	17		129	159
October	2	0	2		7	14
Total	161	78	83		729	758

Regular season

April

April 3 – The Pirates defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in the very first game of the 2016 Major League Baseball season
April 6 – The Pirates sweep the Cardinals in the first series of the regular season.
The Pirates finish the month with a win–loss record of 15–9, second in the NL Central at 3.0 games out of first.

May

May 6 – Third baseman/Shortstop Jung-ho Kang returns from a 2015 season-ending injury to make his 2016 season debut, hitting two home runs in a 4–2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
May 20 – Andrew McCutchen records his 613th career hit at PNC Park, surpassing Jack Wilson as PNC Park hits leader.
May 23 – Starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong is hit by a pitch while batting. Reliever Wilfredo Boscán takes his place four days after his MLB debut and records his first career MLB win and hit.
May 26 – The Pirates conclude a ten-game homestand, winning eight and taking three series in a row against the Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks.
May 30 – Pitcher Jeff Locke pitches the first complete game shutout of his career, in 105 pitches, in a 10–0 victory against the Miami Marlins. Outfielder Gregory Polanco hits the first grand slam of his career.
The Pirates finish the month with a win–loss record of 29–22, second in the NL Central at 6.5 games out of first.

June

June 7 – After rain forces the first game in a homestand against the New York Mets on June 6 to be postponed, the Pirates sweep a double-header against the Mets. Closing pitcher Mark Melancon records a save in both games.
June 8 – Starting pitcher Jameson Taillon makes his MLB debut against the New York Mets, striking out three and allowing three runs in six innings in a loss to the Mets.
June 14 – Jameson Taillon earns his first career MLB win in a shutout victory over the New York Mets.
June 17 – The Pirates are shut out for the first time in the 2016 season in a loss against the Chicago Cubs.
June 24 – Clint Hurdle earns his 1000th career win as a manager in a Pirates victory at home over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Pirates finish the month with a win–loss record of 38–41, third in the NL Central at 14.0 games out of first.

July

July 4 – Juan Nicasio becomes only the 74th player to pitch an immaculate inning in a Major League game.
July 5 – Mark Melancon is named to the National League All-Star team, while Starling Marte is named a final vote candidate.
July 7 – Starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow makes his MLB debut, striking out five and allowing four runs in a loss against the St. Louis Cardinals.
July 10 – The Pirates enter the All-Star break with a win–loss record of 46–43, third in the NL Central.
July 17 – The Pirates defeat the Washington Nationals 2–1 in 18 innings, the longest regular season game in Nationals history, on the strength of a Starling Marte home run.
July 27 – Pitcher Gerrit Cole pitches the first complete game of his career, in 93 pitches, in a 10–1 victory against the Seattle Mariners.
July 30 – The Pirates trade closing pitcher Mark Melancon to the Washington Nationals for Felipe Rivero and Taylor Hearn; Tony Watson replaces Melancon as closer.
The Pirates finish the month with a win–loss record of 52–51, third in the NL Central at 10.5 games out of first.

August

The Pirates finish the month with a win–loss record of 67–64, third in the NL Central at 17.5 games out of first.

September

September 12 – Jung-ho Kang is named NL Player of the Week for the week ending September 11.
September 19 – Sean Rodriguez is named NL co-Player of the Week for the week ending September 18.
September 27 – The Pirates lose to the Chicago Cubs and are prevented from qualifying for the postseason for the first time since 2012.
September 29 – The Pirates and the Cubs tie, 1–1, after the game was called in the 6th inning because of inclement weather. The game was not made up as the result did not impact the playoff race. It was the first tie in MLB since June 2005.
September 30 – The Pirates lose for the 81st time of the season, against the Cardinals, ensuring the team's first losing season since 2012.
The Pirates finish the month with a win–loss record of 78–81, third in the NL Central at 24.0 games out of first.

October

October 2 – At the conclusion of the season, the Pirates had a win–loss record of 78–83, finishing third in the NL Central behind the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs.

Notable achievements

Awards

Rawlings Gold Glove Award

Starling Marte, OF

2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Mark Melancon, P, reserve
Starling Marte, OF, reserve

National League Player of the Week Award

Sporting News NL All-Star Team

Starling Marte, OF

Statistics

Players

Updated as of games on October 2, 2016
;Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player
	18	24	5	0.208	0	4
	66	146	44	0.301	2	11
	6	3	1	0.333	0	1
'	129	489	152	0.311	9	46
	45	128	35	0.273	3	19
^‡	23	42	12	0.286	1	5
'	131	487	138	0.283	4	59
	103	318	81	0.255	21	62
	141	437	118	0.270	13	55
'	144	527	136	0.258	22	86
	132	380	102	0.268	8	42
	101	326	86	0.264	1	33
'	149	519	133	0.256	11	59
	140	231	56	0.242	13	42
	7	7	1	0.143	0	0
	140	300	81	0.270	18	56
	153	598	153	0.256	24	79
	34	98	21	0.214	1	7
	8	8	2	0.250	0	0
	21	40	8	0.200	1	3
	36	78	17	0.218	0	8
^†	11	22	3	0.136	0	0
	27	31	7	0.226	0	1
	52	19	3	0.158	0	1
	23	26	4	0.154	0	3
	31	32	4	0.125	0	0
	5	15	6	0.400	0	2
^†	18	56	6	0.107	1	4
^‡	24	30	3	0.100	0	1
	15	23	2	0.087	0	0
	23	25	2	0.080	0	2
	18	32	3	0.094	0	2
Ryan Vogelsong	24	19	1	0.053	0	1
^‡	39	2	0	0.000	0	0
	1	4	0	0.000	0	1
	67	1	0	0.000	0	0
^†	6	1	0	0.000	0	0
^‡	14	2	0	0.000	0	0
	2	2	0	0.000	0	0
	6	8	0	0.000	0	0
^‡	15	2	0	0.000	0	0
	36	2	0	0.000	0	0
Tony Watson	65	1	0	0.000	0	0
Trevor Williams	7	1	0	0.000	0	1
^†	28	0	0		0	0
	62	0	0		0	0
	9	0	0		0	0
	2	0	0		0	0
^‡	45	0	0		0	0
	2	0	0		0	0
^‡	28	0	0		0	0
	2	0	0		0	0
Team totals	162	5,542	1,426	0.257	153	696

;Pitching
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player
^†	1	1	0	0	0.00	1
	2	3	0	0	0.00	1
Phil Coke	3	4	0	0	0.00	3
Wade LeBlanc	8	12	1	0	0.75	10
^‡	28	27	1	3	3.29	39
^‡	45	41	1	1	1.51	38
^†	11	64	5	2	3.06	52
^†	28	24	3	0	4.13	28
Zach Phillips	8	6	0	0	2.70	3
	67	59	1	1	3.03	34
	70	67	2	5	3.06	58
	18	104	5	4	3.38	85
	8	33	0	3	4.86	29
^‡	39	41	1	2	3.51	32
	62	53	4	2	3.52	61
	36	52	2	2	3.63	46
	21	116	7	10	3.88	98
^‡	14	25	2	0	3.96	15
	14	70	5	4	4.20	53
^‡	15	16	0	0	4.41	13
	24	82	3	7	4.81	61
	52	118	10	7	4.50	138
^‡	23	110	8	6	4.91	76
^‡	21	113	6	11	5.46	116
	30	127	9	8	5.44	73
	7	23	0	2	4.24	24
	6	15	1	1	6.46	8
	7	12	1	1	7.82	11
^†	6	11	0	0	5.56	10
	9	8	0	1	9.35	9
	2	3	0	0	17.18	4
	2		0	0	40.50	0
Team totals	162	1,450	78	83	4.21	1,232

;Legend
– Stats reflect time with the Pirates only.

^† – Denotes player was acquired during season.

^‡ – Denotes player was relinquished during season.

– Injured reserve.

– ''Qualified for batting title or ERA title ''

Transactions

The Pirates were involved in the following transactions during the 2016 season:

Trades

November 25, 2015	To Arizona Diamondbacks: ---- Cash Considerations	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Allen Webster
December 9, 2015	To New York Mets: ---- Neil Walker	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Jon Niese
December 12, 2015	To Philadelphia Phillies: ---- Charlie Morton	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- David Whitehead
December 17, 2015	To Milwaukee Brewers: ---- Keon Broxton Trey Supak	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Jason Rogers
December 21, 2015	To Detroit Tigers: ---- Cash Considerations	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Kyle Lobstein
March 27, 2016	To Atlanta Braves: ---- Eric O'Flaherty	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Cash Considerations
June 11, 2016	To Los Angeles Angels: ---- Cash Considerations	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Erik Kratz
July 30, 2016	To Washington Nationals: ---- Mark Melancon	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Felipe Rivero Taylor Hearn
August 1, 2016	To New York Yankees: ---- Two Players To Be Named Later Tito Polo Stephen Tarpley	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Iván Nova
August 1, 2016	To Toronto Blue Jays: ---- Francisco Liriano Harold Ramírez Reese McGuire	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Drew Hutchison
August 1, 2016	To New York Mets: ---- Jon Niese	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Antonio Bastardo
August 6, 2016	To Seattle Mariners: ---- Arquimedes Caminero	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Player To Be Named Later and Future Considerations Jake Brentz Pedro Vasquez
August 31, 2016	To Baltimore Orioles: ---- Kyle Lobstein	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Zach Phillips
September 13, 2016	To Seattle Mariners: ---- Player To Be Named Later or Cash Considerations	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Wade LeBlanc
September 22, 2016	To New York Yankees: ---- Cash Considerations	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Phil Coke
September 26, 2016	To Washington Nationals: ---- Taylor Gushue and Cash Considerations	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Chris Bostick
October 5, 2016	To Toronto Blue Jays: ---- Cash Considerations	To Pittsburgh Pirates: ---- Brady Dragmire

Draft picks

Rd	#	Player	Pos	DOB and Age	School	Signed
1	22	Will Craig	3B		Wake Forest
LOT A	41	Nick Lodolo	LHP		Damien High School
2	68	Travis Macgregor	RHP		East Lake High School
3	105	Stephen Alemais	SS		Tulane
4	135	Braeden Ogle	LHP		Jensen Beach High School
5	165	Blake Cederlind	RHP		Merced College
6	195	Cam Vieaux	LHP		Michigan State University
7	225	Brent Gibbs	C		Central Arizona College
8	255	Dylan Prohoroff	RHP		Cal State Fullerton
9	285	Clark Eagan	CF		Arkansas State University
10	315	Matthew Anderson	RHP		Morehead State University

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Bradenton