Getty Andrew McCutchen returns to the Pirates this season after five years away from the team when he bounced around MLB.
After a second-consecutive 100-loss season, the Pittsburgh Pirates look to keep building in 2023.
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Most Pirates games this season will be locally televised on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, while others may be nationally televised on MLB Network (those ones will also be on ATT-SN Pittsburgh), ESPN, ESPN2, Fox or FS1. A couple may be untelevised and stream on YouTube, Apple TV+, Peacock TV or ESPN+.
If you don’t have cable and you live in the Pirates market, you can watch a live stream of every televised Pirates game on FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, which both include AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh and come with a free trial.
Here’s a full rundown of those options, as well as some ways for out-of-market viewers to watch Pirates games live online without cable in 2023:
If You’re in the Pirates Market
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, ESPN, ESPN2, Fox, FS1, MLB Network and 100-plus other live TV channels on FuboTV. You’ll need to include the “Sports Plus” add-on for MLB Network, but you can include any add-ons you want with your free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch Pirates games live on the FuboTV app or FuboTV website.
Compatible devices for the FuboTV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” ESPN, ESPN2, Fox and FS1 are included in every one, while AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh and MLB Network are in “Choice” and up, but you can pick any package and any add-ons you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch Pirates games live on the DirecTV Stream app or DirecTV Stream website.
Compatible devices for the DirecTV Stream app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
If You’re Out of the Pirates Market
Amazon Prime’s MLB.TV Channel
Amazon Prime subscribers (Prime comes with a 30-day free trial) can watch every out-of-market, non-nationally televised MLB game via Prime Channels.
The MLB.TV channel costs either $24.99 per month to watch every out-of-market game (“All Team Pass”) or $129.99 for the year to just watch out-of-market Pirates games (“Single Team Pass”), but either option comes with a free seven-day trial:
MLB.TV Amazon Prime Free Trial
Once you’re signed up for the Prime MLB.TV Channel, out-of-market viewers can watch Pirates games live on the Prime Video app or Amazon website.
Compatible devices for the Prime Video app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, various smart TV’s, Xiaomi, Echo Show or Echo Spot, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
MLB.TV
This is ultimately the same as the Amazon Prime option above, only you’ll watch games on MLB’s digital platforms instead of Amazon’s.
You can watch all out-of-market, non-nationally televised MLB games via MLB.TV. It costs $24.99 per month or $149.99 for the year to watch every out-of-market game, or $129.99 for the year to just watch out-of-market Pirates games. The monthly and yearly all-team options include a free seven-day trial (the single-team option does not):
Once signed up for MLB.TV, out-of-market viewers can watch Pirates games live on the MLB TV app or MLB.TV website.
Compatible devices for the MLB TV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, various Smart TV’s, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
ESPN+
This isn’t going to be an option to watch a lot of Pirates games, but if you’re looking for a cheap way to watch a random MLB game daily, ESPN+ includes at least one out-of-market game every day during the regular season:
In addition to one live MLB game every day, ESPN+ also has dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year (or $13.99 per month for a bundle of all three of ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu).
Once signed up for ESPN+, out-of-market viewers can watch a daily MLB game live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com.
Compatible devices for the ESPN app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Samsung Smart TV, Oculus Go, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Pirates Season Preview 2023
The Pittsburgh Pirates look to keep making progress on a rebuild after a 62-100 record in 2022.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton enters his fourth season with the team, and he will have a familiar name joining the lineup. Outfielder/designated hitter Andrew McCutchen returned to the Pirates after bouncing around MLB since 2017. McCutchen hit .237 with 17 home runs and 69 RBI for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022.
Pittsburgh parted ways with a few notable players in the offseason. That includes outfielder Ben Gamel, second baseman Kevin Newman, infielder Hoy Park, first baseman Michael Chavis, and infielder Josh VanMeter.
The Pirates have quality hitters back in centerfield Bryan Reynolds, shortstop Oneil Cruz, and third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. Reynolds hit .262 with 27 home runs and 62 RBI in 2022. Hayes went .244 for seven home runs and 41 RBI, and he stole 20 bases last season. Cruz hit .233 for 17 home runs and 54 RBI and he swiped 10 bases in 2022.
Pittsburgh also added first baseman/designated hitter Carlos Santana to the lineup. Santana hit .202 for 19 home runs and 60 RBI in time with the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners last year.
The Pirates also added a couple of starting pitchers in Vince Velasquez and left hander Rich Hill. Velasquez went 3-3 with a 4.78 ERA for the Chicago White Sox last year. Hill went 8-7 with a 4.27 ERA for the Boston Red Sox in 2022.
Pittsburgh also has Mitch Keller, who went 5-12 with a 3.91 ERA last year. Fellow Pirates starter J.T. Brutbaker looks to improve on a 3-12 record amid a 4.69 ERA in 2022. Roansy Contreras looks to build on a 5-5 record and 3.79 ERA from last season.
The Pirates have a quality reliever in David Bednar. He made 19 saves and went 3-4 with a 2.61 ERA in 2022. Wil Crowe had four saves and went 6-10 with a 4.38 ERA last year.
Chase De Jong looks to build on a 2022 season where he went 6-3 and earned one save amid a 2.64 ERA. Duane Underwood Jr. looks to improve things after going 1-6 plus one save amid a 4.40 ERA in 2022.
Projected Lineup
Austin Hedges, catcher
Ji-Man Choi, first base
Rodolfo Castro, second base
Oneil Cruz, shortstop
Ke’Bryan Hayes, third base
Bryan Reynolds, left field
Jack Suwinski, center field
Andrew McCutchen, right field
Carlson Santana, designated hitter
Projected Pitching Rotation and Bullpen
Roansy Contreras, starter
Rich Hill, starter
Mitch Keller, starter
Vince Velasquez, starter
J.T. Brubaker, starter
David Bednar, closer
Robert Stephenson, setup
Wil Crowe, reliever
Duaner Underwood, reliever
Jarlin Garcia, reliever
Colin Holderman, reliever
Chase De Jong, reliever
Yerry De Los Santos, reliever
Jose Hernandez, reliever
Dauri Moreta, reliever
Tyler Chatwood, reliever