Before the start of the Pirates' home opener against the Yankees here at PNC Park, I spoke with Bob Nutting about fan frustration, the team's finances, the offseason approach and where he stands on a salary cap for Major League Baseball.
Our eight-minute conversation:
DKPS: Getting the fans back into PNC Park for the home opener, how special are days like this?
Nutting: Opening day really is a special day and what we just saw out there on the field, you had engaged fans, you had lots of people in the ballpark wearing black. They are excited about Pittsburgh, they are excited about the Pirates, and they are rooting for this team. Then, the other fun thing is you see so many families here on opening day and that’s something special about Pittsburgh. It’s the start of summertime, it’s the start to everything good about enjoying the game in Pittsburgh. I love opening day.
DKPS: Obviously, Pittsburgh sports fans are passionate people and there’s been some frustration surrounding the Pirates. What is your message to the fans to keep them bought in that this team could become a winner?
Nutting: I think it’s really two things. One, I really do appreciate and respect their frustration and their passion. I know how much they care about the team. They are expressing how much they care and I just want them to understand that I really care too. I’ve been working really hard for 20 years. We’ve shown some success, which is turning into a long time ago. We’ve been pushing forward, the entire organization is focused on how we drive toward, first, a winning culture and then a championship-quality team and then a championship. Ben (Cherington) understands that, (Derek Shelton) understands that, everybody in the organization understands that, and that’s the path that we’re moving down.
DKPS: With Paul Skenes coming up last year, there was a lot of excitement coming into this season in particular because it was his first full year and the starting rotation that has been built around him. Do you think that the organization did enough this offseason to support the aspirations of turning this into a winning team?
Nutting: Well, first, Paul is a remarkable young man. The combination of the talent that he brings, the poise that he brings, the character that he brings, combined with the leadership, we are so fortunate to have Paul. So, we’ll do whatever we can do, whatever we need to do to support him. He deserves that and Pittsburgh deserves that. What we really focused on and, again, what Ben and Shelty really have focused on was ‘How do we surround the players we have with whatever tools they need?’ If you look in the batting tunnel, you see the new force plates, you see new technology that we’ve been able to add in. So I think providing all the tools for the existing team and the organization believes and Ben and Shelty have to believe, that we can win with the players that we have. At the same time, they are charged with: How do we keep getting better? How do we keep bringing better players in? How do we do that in a way that works in Pittsburgh? How do we do that in a way that’s efficient to be able to continue to go and build, whether it’s in the offseason, whether it’s in spring training or whether it’s at the trading deadline. It’s a process that never ends and it’s one that they are charged with and they understand that we need to have continuous improvement. Have we done enough? No. Do we need to do more? Of course. Are they working every single day to do more and get better? Absolutely.
DKPS: So would you say that you have more of an approach of building from the inside rather than adding from the outside? If that makes sense?
Nutting: I think the realities of a market the size of Pittsburgh, just as it is with a third or more of the clubs, is that we need to build a strong core. We see that. Our best players are young players brought up from inside, we need to do that. But, at the same time, we supplement strategically in a way that’s important. We love having Tommy (Pham) with the team. He just brings a level of edge and grit and determination and he’s been in the locker room and he’s done it. So, having guys like that around these players is critically important and a resource for them to get better. (Andrew McCutchen), you can’t say enough about Andrew and the impact that he has on any locker he’s going to be around, in particularly here in Pittsburgh. So, they wake up every single day, every single day, thinking about ‘How do we make sure we have those pieces that will be complementary, work and fit together?’
DKPS: What is your stance on a salary cap in baseball? Are you against it? Are you for it? Is that something that you would support in the future, given the financial status of the league right now?
Nutting: There’s no question that in the existing economic situation, there’s a huge revenue disparity, there’s no question that creates huge payroll disparity, and there’s no question that winning correlates with payroll. So when all those pieces flow together, I don’t want to guess on the right way to go from here to there. But it’s not a level playing field and baseball is challenging for smaller-market teams.
DKPS: We recently published a report about the financial status of the team. After losing money last year, is there any concern within the organization?
Nutting: First, I’m not going to comment on your story and what’s accurate. I really don’t know where all those numbers came from. There is absolutely no concern that the team is not strong and stable. It has been and it will continue to be. Frankly, when I came in, it feels now like a long time ago, the team wasn’t on a stable financial footing. We had some very hard decisions to make to be sure that we had a stable platform. We were making trades based on saving payroll as opposed to doing what was the right thing. We moved so far beyond that today that no, I believe that we have a stable situation in a very, very challenging environment. I believe we are doing everything we can to maximize within a very, very challenging environment. We’re never going to use a challenging environment as an excuse. We gotta win with what we have, but at the same time, we’re going to admit that it’s actually hard. We don’t need anyone to feel sorry for us; that’s not our role. What we need is, internally, to believe that ‘Sure, it’s hard, but we can do the hard work.’ If you ask Ben, that’s what he would say, ‘Sure it’s hard.’ That’s why he’s here. He’s here to get hard done. There are 30 baseball teams that are trying to win, and we are going to do the best we can.
DKPS: Is there a benchmark for this team that you would consider this season a success?
Nutting: A world championship. That would be a success.
DKPS: So those are the expectations?
Nutting: I think it has to be.
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THE ASYLUM
Greg Macafee
9:15 pm - 04.04.2025NORTH SHOREOne-on-one: Nutting on finances, salary cap, more
Before the start of the Pirates' home opener against the Yankees here at PNC Park, I spoke with Bob Nutting about fan frustration, the team's finances, the offseason approach and where he stands on a salary cap for Major League Baseball.
Our eight-minute conversation:
DKPS: Getting the fans back into PNC Park for the home opener, how special are days like this?
Nutting: Opening day really is a special day and what we just saw out there on the field, you had engaged fans, you had lots of people in the ballpark wearing black. They are excited about Pittsburgh, they are excited about the Pirates, and they are rooting for this team. Then, the other fun thing is you see so many families here on opening day and that’s something special about Pittsburgh. It’s the start of summertime, it’s the start to everything good about enjoying the game in Pittsburgh. I love opening day.
DKPS: Obviously, Pittsburgh sports fans are passionate people and there’s been some frustration surrounding the Pirates. What is your message to the fans to keep them bought in that this team could become a winner?
Nutting: I think it’s really two things. One, I really do appreciate and respect their frustration and their passion. I know how much they care about the team. They are expressing how much they care and I just want them to understand that I really care too. I’ve been working really hard for 20 years. We’ve shown some success, which is turning into a long time ago. We’ve been pushing forward, the entire organization is focused on how we drive toward, first, a winning culture and then a championship-quality team and then a championship. Ben (Cherington) understands that, (Derek Shelton) understands that, everybody in the organization understands that, and that’s the path that we’re moving down.
DKPS: With Paul Skenes coming up last year, there was a lot of excitement coming into this season in particular because it was his first full year and the starting rotation that has been built around him. Do you think that the organization did enough this offseason to support the aspirations of turning this into a winning team?
Nutting: Well, first, Paul is a remarkable young man. The combination of the talent that he brings, the poise that he brings, the character that he brings, combined with the leadership, we are so fortunate to have Paul. So, we’ll do whatever we can do, whatever we need to do to support him. He deserves that and Pittsburgh deserves that. What we really focused on and, again, what Ben and Shelty really have focused on was ‘How do we surround the players we have with whatever tools they need?’ If you look in the batting tunnel, you see the new force plates, you see new technology that we’ve been able to add in. So I think providing all the tools for the existing team and the organization believes and Ben and Shelty have to believe, that we can win with the players that we have. At the same time, they are charged with: How do we keep getting better? How do we keep bringing better players in? How do we do that in a way that works in Pittsburgh? How do we do that in a way that’s efficient to be able to continue to go and build, whether it’s in the offseason, whether it’s in spring training or whether it’s at the trading deadline. It’s a process that never ends and it’s one that they are charged with and they understand that we need to have continuous improvement. Have we done enough? No. Do we need to do more? Of course. Are they working every single day to do more and get better? Absolutely.
DKPS: So would you say that you have more of an approach of building from the inside rather than adding from the outside? If that makes sense?
Nutting: I think the realities of a market the size of Pittsburgh, just as it is with a third or more of the clubs, is that we need to build a strong core. We see that. Our best players are young players brought up from inside, we need to do that. But, at the same time, we supplement strategically in a way that’s important. We love having Tommy (Pham) with the team. He just brings a level of edge and grit and determination and he’s been in the locker room and he’s done it. So, having guys like that around these players is critically important and a resource for them to get better. (Andrew McCutchen), you can’t say enough about Andrew and the impact that he has on any locker he’s going to be around, in particularly here in Pittsburgh. So, they wake up every single day, every single day, thinking about ‘How do we make sure we have those pieces that will be complementary, work and fit together?’
DKPS: What is your stance on a salary cap in baseball? Are you against it? Are you for it? Is that something that you would support in the future, given the financial status of the league right now?
Nutting: There’s no question that in the existing economic situation, there’s a huge revenue disparity, there’s no question that creates huge payroll disparity, and there’s no question that winning correlates with payroll. So when all those pieces flow together, I don’t want to guess on the right way to go from here to there. But it’s not a level playing field and baseball is challenging for smaller-market teams.
DKPS: We recently published a report about the financial status of the team. After losing money last year, is there any concern within the organization?
Nutting: First, I’m not going to comment on your story and what’s accurate. I really don’t know where all those numbers came from. There is absolutely no concern that the team is not strong and stable. It has been and it will continue to be. Frankly, when I came in, it feels now like a long time ago, the team wasn’t on a stable financial footing. We had some very hard decisions to make to be sure that we had a stable platform. We were making trades based on saving payroll as opposed to doing what was the right thing. We moved so far beyond that today that no, I believe that we have a stable situation in a very, very challenging environment. I believe we are doing everything we can to maximize within a very, very challenging environment. We’re never going to use a challenging environment as an excuse. We gotta win with what we have, but at the same time, we’re going to admit that it’s actually hard. We don’t need anyone to feel sorry for us; that’s not our role. What we need is, internally, to believe that ‘Sure, it’s hard, but we can do the hard work.’ If you ask Ben, that’s what he would say, ‘Sure it’s hard.’ That’s why he’s here. He’s here to get hard done. There are 30 baseball teams that are trying to win, and we are going to do the best we can.
DKPS: Is there a benchmark for this team that you would consider this season a success?
Nutting: A world championship. That would be a success.
DKPS: So those are the expectations?
Nutting: I think it has to be.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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