PHOTO BY DAVE DICELLO

Bob Nutting has finally said what long-suffering Pirates fans have been longing to hear. The question now is what do Nutting, the Pirates’ frugal-to-a-fault owner, and his hoarding-prospects-at-all-costs General Manager Ben Cherington intend to do about it?

And, when?

Nutting acknowledged last week that the playoffs are “attainable” for a Pirates team that improved to 39-41 via Wednesday’s 6-1 win in Cincinnati.

He was speaking last Friday, when the Bucs’ record stood at 36-38 and the announcement was made that Sheetz patches would be added to the uniforms.

The Pirates were 17-22 when Paul Skenes arrived on May 11. But with Skenes, Jared Jones and Mitch Keller anchoring the front end of the rotation and a back end of the bullpen that has stabilized nicely (stay tuned regarding how long David Bednar remains sidelined and the impact his absence will have regarding what still seems possible), the record since then is 22-19.

Related: Skenes Raising the Roof Along with Pirates’ Expectations

That’s good but not good enough, and even Nutting knows what needs to happen for the Pirates to begin performing at a pace more representative of a true contender.

“We need more offense,” Nutting noted.

And you probably thought he didn’t know anything about baseball.

Some of that offensive improvement must be “organic,” Nutting maintained. Current under-performers need to pick it up (Ke’Bryan Hayes, Michael A. Taylor and Jack Suwinski, in particular). But Nutting also cited improvement from “outside the organization” as a part of the potential solution.

In other words, via a trade or trades.

It’s “incredibly important,” Nutting emphasized, that the Pirates give themselves every chance to take advantage of the window that has unexpectedly opened for them.

The Pirates’ pitching can make them a team not just capable of making the playoffs but also one with the potential to inflict damage upon arrival.

“This rotation is the real deal,” former Major Leaguer and MLB Network analyst Sean Casey declared this week on the WDVE Morning Show. “If the Pirates get in, they’re a real problem.

“They’re a real problem in a three-game series, in a Wild Card series.”

Such an assessment of the Pirates’ potential isn’t Casey’s alone.

Many in the baseball industry can see it, they can sense it.

Even Nutting.

“To have that front end of the rotation is an opportunity we have to take advantage of,” he insisted.

No argument here.

But for an organization that has historically resisted the urge to spend what’s necessary or part with prospects and alter a vision of the future that never seems to translate into a present, those are just words.

Actions would speak louder. Even in a seller’s market.

The Pirates need to augment their offense and they need to swing a trade or two to do it. And if they find the player or players who end up having the desired effect, it won’t matter much how much those players cost in the long run.

And if they turn out to not be the right players after all, as Chris Archer wasn’t back in 2018, well, at least an effort would have been made.

Go down swinging if you must, but swing for the fences.

“We want to add to the team,” Cherington agreed. “We want to make the team better.”

So do it.

Don’t worry about contracts or cost, for a change.

Don’t worry about 2025 or beyond.

Worry about the playoffs, this season, with this team.

Do what needs to be done to be the team these Pirates can become.

It won’t be easy, and Cherington might have to swallow hard at the cost (Nutting, too).

But it needs to be done, and sooner rather than later.

Waiting until the July 30 trade deadline would only lessen the potential impact of anyone the Pirates might well have to pay a premium price to acquire in the first place.

Every game that passes while the Pirates contemplate what they need to do without actually doing anything about it is an opportunity lost.

“I’m not at all sure that we won’t have opportunities well in advance of the deadline,” Nutting added. “We should be prepared to move early.”

More encouraging words that ought not to be taken as Gospel.

Until the Pirates prove otherwise.

Until the Pirates give us reason to believe.