Pittsburgh Pirates: Is 2018 a bonafide rebuilding season?

The Pittsburgh Pirates are heading into 2018 looking to replace some key starters, but is this a true rebuilding season for the organization?

Every Pittsburgh Pirates fan knows this 2018 campaign is going to be somewhat of a struggle, especially since the team traded Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen this offseason. However, even though the ball-club will be without their two best players from previous years, the Bucs front-office still expects this team to make some noise in the NL Central.

If we’re being honest, no one would expect Pittsburgh’s management to flat-out say the team isn’t going to be competitive this season; nevertheless, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington tried his hardest to convince Adam Berry his team is ready to win now.

Take a look at Huntington’s quote in Adam Berry’s article on the Pirates official website:

"“This is a young, talented team here that is going to be fun to watch,” Huntington said. “They’re going to go out and fight every single night to honor these fans and to respect and appreciate the anger that they feel right now, and turn that anger into sold-out, loud, playoff PNC Park.”"

While that may feel like “lip-service” to most die-hard fans of the club, Huntington did give some decent supporting points to Berry. Not only did he mention the Pirates were able to grab some top prospects for Cole and McCutchen, but he also reminded everyone that Pittsburgh has been counted out before.

If nothing else, Huntington is encouraging Bucs fans and giving them something to look forward to in 2018.

Still, in a division as tough as the NL Central, everyone needs to understand the Pirates have a long way to go before they’ll rise back to the top. Until then, the Bucs will be trying to add young prospects into the mix, trying to find a winning formula once again.

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Even though that may seem disappointing, this Pirates squad may be closer to competing than you think.