One thing that has remained the same with the Pittsburgh Pirates since Neal Huntington took over is that the franchise continues to be in the bottom of the league in payroll. The Bucs payroll in recent years has been even more abysmal. This past season they had a payroll of $72 million, ranking second to last in the league. The previous season was not much better, the team ranked as the fourth lowest payroll.
Even during the team’s winning years, Pittsburgh Pirates owner Bob Nutting never spent that additional money to take that next step. Yes, they made moves, but none that really inspired confidence for a World Series run.