The team has made it clear that it will be "buyers" at the trade deadline, meaning that the organization is not only looking to finish above .500, but also make an impact in the postseason, as well.
It won't be easy, though. The Cardinals, Reds and Brewers all look primed to make a playoff push, and considering the wild-card lead that the Atlanta Braves have established, it's likely that only one of the four Central teams will make the postseason.
We've already seen the Cardinals acquire Edwin Jackson and the Brewers trade for Francisco Rodriguez, proving that they're willing to go all-in for a division championship.
So what can Pittsburgh do to compete with the others down the stretch?
Make a move at the deadline. But not just any move — it needs to be the right move.
We can use the 2010 San Diego Padres as a perfect analogy.
The Padres, the second-lowest paid club in all of Major League Baseball, sat 3 1/2 games ahead of San Francisco in the NL West on July 29. The team clearly needed bats to surround Adrian Gonzalez, and decided on outfielder Ryan Ludwick and shortstop Miguel Tejada, two reasonably priced veterans.
The problem? The two are notoriously bad at San Diego's Petco Park, with Tejada and Ludwick hitting a career .236 and .219, respectively. Additionally, the two weren't historically solid against the Giants, batting a combined .235.
Entering a four-game series in early September against San Francisco, the Padres were leading the division by two games. The Padres only managed a single win and then found themselves tied with the Giants. When the Padres needed a sweep against San Francisco at the end of the month to clinch a playoff spot, they fell a win short.
Ludwick and Tejada's combined stats for those seven crucial games? A .125 average, two home runs and four RBIs. The Padres lost the NL West by two games.
The Pirates find themselves in a much similar position. Pittsburgh will be matched up against the Reds and Brewers in the final two series of the season, while also facing the Cardinals in the middle of September.
Figuring how close some of the division races have been over the last few seasons, you've got to figure that those games will likely determine the division champ. Also, like the Padres, the team's starting pitching is solid, but could benefit from a veteran bat in the lineup.
Chicago Cubs first baseman Carlos Pena could be an intriguing option for the Pirates, and he has a .308 average with seven home runs and 19 RBIs against the NL Central contenders.
A pair of Oakland outfielders, David Dejesus and Josh Willingham, could be had for the right price and have also fared well against the NL Central opposition. Dejesus has a career line of .353-5-28 against the three teams, while Willingham has a line of .300-15-45.
A player like Jeff Francoeur, who has a line of .261-12-53 in extended play against the NL Central contenders, would be similar to the Padres' acquisition of Ludwick –- a dependable player through the regular season, but a player who has failed to perform against the team's top rivals.
Now, there is obviously a lot more that goes into a traded player's productivity, including their reaction to living in a new place and playing in a new ballpark. Yet, when it comes down to the final games in September, you want to make sure that your key offensive players match up against key opponents.
Do you think the Red Sox will look at a player that has lousy career stats against the Yankees or that the Braves will look for a hitter who has failed against Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels? Doubtful.
San Diego failed to take such statistics into consideration last season and paid the price. As the Pirates have shown, a playoff appearance may come around once every two decades. For that reason, they need to capitalize on this opportunity and not only acquire a bat, but the right bat.
