Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington will be returning for the 2026 season. 

The news of Cherington's return was reported Monday afternoon after the team announced that Pirates manager Don Kelly's contract has been extended. 

Pirates president Travis Williams said the 2025 season was frustrating both on and off the field, but said everyone involved in the organization knows that things need to improve next season.

"We know we need to better," Williams said. "We'll be better in 2026."

Williams said the organization's belief and expectation is that "this team is a closer than our performance and our record would suggest." 

The Pirates finished the 2025 season with a 71-91 record, haven't had a winning season since 2018, and haven't made the playoffs since 2013. 

"Our goal is to win in 2026 and make the playoffs," Williams said. "Period. Full stop. With that in mind, we know that we need to build on the momentum that we already have and moving forward."

Williams said the Pirates have the best young pitching staff in all of baseball, which includes Paul Skenes, who is the front-runner for the National League Cy Young Award this season. Skenes finished his 2025 season with a 1.97 ERA. 

"We have sufficient resources to go out and build a team that can make the playoffs in 2026," Williams said. "It's not a resource issue. We just have to go out and execute."