Burgh Sports United - Blog

Steelers to Sign Nick Herbig to Four-Year Extension

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 20:41:00 +0000

Jason Shetler

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Pittsburgh Steelers are in agreement with edge rusher Nick Herbig, on four-year extension for $100 million. The deal includes $42 million in guaranteed money.

The Steelers found a diamond in the rough during the 2023 NFL Draft, as they selected Herbig in the fourth round out of Wisconsin.

Herbig had a terrific rookie campaign in ‘23, recording three sacks, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.

In 2024, Herbig put up 5.5 sacks, along with four forced fumbles, and pair of fumble recoveries.

Last season was an even higher level of production from Herbig, registering career-high seven sacks, three forced fumbles, one recovered fumble, and his first career interception. He played a bigger role in the second half of the year, when TJ Watt missed time with a punctured lung.

Herbig was set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2026 season. The new deal for Herbig pours even more cash into the Steelers’ defense, particularly at outside linebacker, with Watt signed through 2028 at a $41 million AAV, and Alex Highsmith, who is making a $17 million AAV and is signed through 2027.

Entering his age 24 season, Herbig is emerging as one of the best young edge rushers in the league, and it’s a deal that benefits the Steelers right now, as well as Herbig for the long haul.

Pirates Find Themselves In Interesting Situation with Brandon Lowe

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 17:06:00 +0000

Jason Shetler

p/c: Charles LeClaire

Last offseason, the Pittsburgh Pirates made one of their biggest trades in a long time; acquiring All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe, as part of a three-team deal with the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros.

In my opinion, the acquisition of Lowe is the Pirates’ most impactful position player addition since the Russell Martin signing prior to the 2013 season.

Lowe made quite the statement for his new team to open 2026, as he delivered a pair of home runs against the New York Mets at Citi Field. He became the first Pirates second baseman to hit multiple homers on Opening Day.

The Pirates enter the month of June averaging 5.0 runs per game, which is a vast improvement going into June of last year (3.2). Lowe has been a major reason why the Bucs have a Top 5 offense right now. His 14 home runs lead all MLB second basemen, while his .875 OPS is also tops at the position.

There’s been plenty of discussion around the Pirates, in regards to a possible contract extension with Lowe. Set to become a free agent after the season, Lowe is making $11.5 million in 2026. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington should at least have a sit down with Lowe and his agent about an extension.

Although Lowe will be 32 next season, he’s been one of the most productive hitting second basemen in baseball, and may look to cash in on one more big payday in free agency. If the Pirates are unable to extend Lowe, where do they go from there?

The trade deadline will certainly dictate what Pittsburgh decides to do with Lowe. If they’re looking to compete, then he won’t go anywhere. But should they fall out of contention and sell, then he’ll be their biggest trade candidate.

Two years ago, the Pirates were 54-52 heading into the trade deadline. The team chose to keep Aroldis Chapman rather than sell high at the deadline, because they were still in the mix for a wildcard spot. However, an August collapse resulted in them falling out of contention. Chapman left for free agency, and the Pirates lost him for nothing.

It’ll be interesting what the Pirates will do with Lowe. Do they push the chips forward on playing for a postseason spot, or enter the deadline as fringe contenders, and try to move Lowe for a significant return, even though he’ll only be a rental for a contender?

What Would It Take for Penguins to Acquire Jason Robertson?

Thu, 28 May 2026 17:12:00 +0000

Jason Shetler

p/c: Robert Edwards

In terms of young, rising superstars in hockey, Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson is certainly in the elite category.

This season, Robertson put up spectacular numbers again, as he registered 45 goals. It’s his third career 40-goal campaign.

Only seven seasons into his NHL career, Robertson is already closing in on 500 points with 490.

In October of 2022, the Stars inked Robertson to a four-year extension for $31 million ($7.75M AAV).

As Robertson prepares to become a restricted free agent this summer, he’ll get a substantial raise from his $7.75M AAV - most projecting $10-12M.

Dallas heads into the offseason with a tight budget, leading to plenty of speculation of a Robertson trade.

Obviously, there will be several teams inquiring on Robertson. Would the Pittsburgh Penguins be among them?

The Penguins were one of the biggest surprise stories in the NHL this season - a team that compiled 98 points under first-year head coach Dan Muse, who is a finalist for the Jack Adams Award.

Pittsburgh enters the offseason in a great spot with their cap space. Even with the re-signing of Evgeni Malkin this week, the cap is roughly $35 million. If Kyle Dubas chose to place his foot on the gas, in pursuit of Robertson, what would a potential trade proposal look like?

The Stars would likely search for a package that includes a first round pick, a Top 6 forward with a track record, and a top prospect. So here’s what the Pens could offer for Robertson.

2026 first round pick

2026 second round pick (from Winnipeg)

Bryan Rust

Ben Kindel

A first round pick would clearly be a given. Rust is a proven Top 6 winger coming off seven straight seasons of 20+ goals. Kindel made an immediate impact in Pittsburgh; scoring 17 goals, which were the most by a Penguins rookie since Jordan Staal in 2006-07. In a way to sweeten the deal, they could an include a ‘26 second round pick that belonged to Winnipeg, and a better pick, because of the Jets finishing with less points.

While it may be an unlikely scenario, a Penguins top line of Robertson, Sidney Crosby, and Rickard Rakell would be one to really dream on.

A Wing and a Prayer Pirates Bullpen

Tue, 19 May 2026 01:50:00 +0000

Aileen Bowers

The Pirates’ bullpen has been the source of much consternation among fans these first few weeks of the season and with good reason. However last weekend’s implosion against the Phillies caused even the most optimistic Pirates’ fan (I’m looking at you Chuck in Uniontown) to bang their head against the wall.

After looking at the composition of the bullpen and its current residents, I began to ask myself are we getting exactly what we signed up for? Did GM Ben Cherrington construct this bullpen on a wing and a prayer?

For those of you who expressed doubt in the quality of the relievers during the offseason, the words of the late Dennis Green, the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings come to mind, “they are who we thought they were!”

There are 4 right handed relievers on the roster right now, 30 and over: Justin Lawrence, Isaac Mattson, Yohan Ramirez and Dennis Santana. This is Ramirez’ 2nd stop with the Pirates, and he’s been with 7 other MLB teams in his 7 seasons. Mattson spent time with the Angels and Orioles and Lawrence was claimed off waivers by the Pirates after being with the Rockies.

Dennis Santana’s MLB history is extensive, as the Pirates are his 7th team since getting the majors. He’s been DFA’d by the Dodgers, posted a 3-8 record with 5.21 ERA with the Rangers, traded to the Braves, claimed off waivers by the Twins, then the Mets and finally the Yankees. The Yankees DFA’s him after 23 appearances and a 6.26 ERA.

Of the left handers, Gregory Soto has 60 careers saves – but a 4.16 ERA. His best year was 2022, when he converted 30 of 33 save opportunities and posted a 3.28 ERA for a Detroit Tigers’ team which lost 96 games. His own record: 2-11. He went on to pitch for the Phillies, Orioles and Mets before coming to the Pirates. This is his track record.

The other two southpaws, Evan Sisk (age 29) and Mason Montgomery (age 25) provide some hope that once Carmen Mlodzinski gets back to being a reliever, they can provide support to the starting rotation which has performed well the first seven weeks of the season.

Is There Cause for Concern with Bubba Chandler?

Fri, 08 May 2026 15:25:00 +0000

Jason Shetler

p/c: Frank Bowen IV

During his tenure as Pittsburgh Pirates general manager, the one thing Ben Cherington has been able to hang his hat on is producing quality pitching talent.

Heading into last offseason, the starting pitching depth consisted of Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, Bubba Chandler, Hunter Barco, Johan Oviedo, and Mike Burrows, with the latter two being traded for bats; Oviedo to the Boston Red Sox to obtain Jhostynxon Garcia, and Burrows to the Houston Astros, as a three-way with the Tampa Bay Rays, for the Pirates to acquire Brandon Lowe and Jake Mangum.

Midway through last year, Bubba Chandler became the #2 prospect in baseball, with only Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony being ranked higher.

On August 22nd, the Pirates called up Chandler, who debuted that night tossing four scoreless innings of relief versus the Colorado Rockies at PNC Park. Chandler made some history, as he became the first Pirates pitcher to record a save in his Major League debut.

Through his first seven starts of 2026, there’s been some definite growing pains with Chandler. He currently has a 4.76 ERA, along with a 1.50 WHIP, in large part to issuing the most walks in the National League with 26 (6.9 BB/9).

Chandler has relied on the fastball pretty heavily at 54.4%. His most used secondary pitch is the changeup at 19.9%, followed by his slider and sweeper at 13.7% and 9.2% respectively.

The biggest thing that sticks out to Chandler’s start of the season is the lack of swing and miss with all of his pitches.

Whiff rate

Changeup 29.3%

Slider 25.0%

Sweeper 25.0%

Fastball 22.7%

It’s still early May, so there’s obviously time for Chandler and first-year pitching coach Bill Murphy to get things right. Given how erratic the control numbers have been for the 23-year-old righty, there’s some cause for concern, but perhaps a mechanical adjustment can be made, to have Chandler throwing more strikes. The Pirates clearly aren’t asking for Chandler to be a pinpoint control artist, but improved command will certainly begin to increase the swing and miss of his overall repertoire.

Even with the early struggles of Chandler, the Pirates’ rotation has the fourth lowest ERA in MLB at 3.97. Realistically speaking, it’s not asking much for Chandler to be a mid-three’s ERA starter (3.40-3.70), in his first full season. Again, there has been growing pains for Chandler early on, but the stuff is too good for him just to be a replacement level pitcher.

Stuart Skinner Not Expected Back with Penguins

Mon, 04 May 2026 20:42:00 +0000

Jason Shetler

Veteran goaltender Stuart Skinner isn’t expected to return to the Pittsburgh Penguins next season, this according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.

Skinner was acquired by the Penguins on December 12th from the Edmonton Oilers, as the main return of the Tristan Jarry trade.

In 27 games with Pittsburgh, Skinner was 12-9-5, while recording a 2.99 goals against average.

After starting the first three games in net, for the first round of the playoffs, Skinner was replaced by Arturs Silovs. The decision from head coach Dan Muse came as a surprise, as Skinner hadn’t been that bad in goal, but Silovs did give the Penguins a better showing, especially in Game 6.

Skinner enters the offseason as an unrestricted free agent. Given that the Pens are likely to have Silovs back in the fold, and top goalie prospect Sergei Murashov waiting in the wings, it’s not surprising that the team will look to move on from Skinner.

The 27-year-old netminder is expected to be one of the top goaltenders, in a watered down free agent market for goalies.

Nick Gonzales Looks to Have Found New Home at Third Base

Mon, 04 May 2026 16:01:00 +0000

Jason Shetler

Six years ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Nick Gonzales as the seventh overall pick in the MLB Draft. The former New Mexico State standout became the first draft selection by Ben Cherington as Pirates general manager.

Gonzales arrived to Pittsburgh during the 2023 season. He didn’t do much offensively; slashing .209/.268/.348 in 128 plate appearances.

The 2024 season was better for Gonzales. He hit .270, while posting a .709 OPS, which is about the league average OPS.

Gonzales entered 2025 as the Pirates second baseman. On Opening Day in Miami, he suffered a freak injury, when he fractured his left ankle, after leaving the batter’s box on a home run. The injury sidelined him for two months, before returning to the team on June 3rd.

Offensively, Gonzales couldn’t seem to get it going, with a slash line of .260/.299/.362, for a wRC+ of 82. The injury also seemed to have affected his defense at second base, as he registered -11 Defensive Runs Saved - the worst mark at the position last year.

This past offseason, the Pirates’ goal was to substantially improve the offense. One of those moves was acquiring Tampa Bay Rays All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe.

The addition of Lowe obviously wasn’t good news for Gonzales, but Ben Cherington included him as a candidate to be the club’s Opening Day shortstop, along with Jared Triolo and Konnor Griffin.

Because Griffin was optioned to AAA, it allowed Gonzales to be at shortstop and Triolo at third base.

On the day of Griffin’s call up to the bigs, for the Pirates home opener, Triolo sustained a right patellar tendon injury, while running the bases.

The Triolo injury has given Gonzales a chance to be an everyday starter again, this time at third base. Gonzales was recently on a 10-game hitting streak, the longest of his big league career, and is batting .444 over his last 14 games. Among qualified National League hitters, his .328 average is currently fifth highest; ninth best in all of MLB. Gonzales has also been tremendous so far with runners in scoring position, hitting .429 in those situations.

With the exception of two games in 2024 with Pittsburgh, and 19 in the minors, third base is still a relatively new position for Gonzales. To this point, he’s been holding his own at the hot corner, committing only one error in 39 chances.

The Pirates’ offense has averaged 5.14 runs per game, which is tied for sixth best in baseball. A rejuvenated Gonzales has helped add a boost, and provide more stability in the lineup. While it certainly took Gonzales some time to excel in the bigs, the former first rounder looks to finally be doing so.

One Burning Question for the Pittsburgh Penguins Offseason

Sun, 03 May 2026 02:15:00 +0000

Jason Shetler

The 2025-26 season for the Pittsburgh Penguins was widely expected to be a transitional period.

Before the season, Vegas odds had the Penguins with a projected over/under point total of 76.5, which was the lowest of any team in the Eastern Conference.

As it turned out, however, Pittsburgh was one of the biggest surprise stories in the league, finishing with 98 points, and clinching a playoff spot for the first time since 2022.

Unfortunately, the fun ride ended in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, with the Penguins losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in six games. A lackluster power play was the biggest culprit, for the series loss; going just 3-for-15 on the man advantage.

It was announced on Friday that Dan Muse was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award. The 43-year-old Muse became the youngest rookie head coach to guide the Pens to the playoffs.

Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager, Kyle Dubas, is a strong candidate for NHL Executive of the Year, and in my opinion, should be the favorite.

Dubas made a plethora of solid moves for this season, including a two-year deal for Parker Wotherspoon, signing Anthony Mantha on the cheap, drafting Ben Kindel, trading for Arturs Silovs, Egor Chinahkov and Elmer Söderblom, and perhaps his most shrewd move - acquiring Stuart Skinner from the Edmonton Oilers, while getting out of the Tristan Jarry contract.

As the Penguins get ready to prepare for the offseason, there is one burning question to ask. What will be their level of aggressiveness?

Despite a favorable cap last offseason, Dubas chose to make conservative moves, which certainly made sense, since Pittsburgh wasn’t suppose to compete. But given the unexpected playoff run, it could lead to a more active offseason, with plenty of cap space.

Because Silovs was in net, for the remainder of the playoffs, and how high they are on Sergei Murashov, it’s very likely the organization decides to let Skinner walk in free agency.

Of course the biggest item is in regards to Evgeni Malkin. The future Hall of Famer enters the offseason as an unrestricted free agent. While Malkin has expressed his desire to stay in Pittsburgh, he’s also been transparent about the opportunity to play elsewhere, if he’s not re-signed.

As it pertains to trades, will Dubas look to move some draft capital to add key veteran pieces, or does that involve players like Bryan Rust or Rickard Rakell being on the trade block, to obtain prospects and/or draft picks?

My gut feeling is that the Penguins choose to be semi-aggressive this offseason, but will that consist of mostly buying or selling?

Patriots Reportedly Eyeing Tomlin as Potential Replacement for Vrabel

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 21:35:00 +0000

Jason Shetler

According to a report from The Daily Mail, the New England Patriots are eyeing former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin as their top coaching candidate, if Mike Vrabel were to resign.

Vrabel, who recently led New England to the Super Bowl, has been the talk of the football world this month, with stories of him having a rumored affair with former NFL insider, Dianna Russini.

Amidst the allegations, Russini recently resigned as NFL insider for The Athletic.

Despite attending the first two days of the draft, Vrabel did not attend Day 3 due to personal reasons, and wanted to seek counseling.

After 19 seasons coaching the Steelers, Tomlin has now joined NBC, where he will serve as a studio analyst for Football Night In America.

Because Tomlin stepped down from the organization, the Steelers still own his contractual rights.

Whether Vrabel ultimately decides to resign is anyone’s guess. Patriots owner Robert Kraft would no doubt want a “sexy” name as a backup plan to Vrabel, and Tomlin would certainly fit that category.

Should anything actually come to fruition, it’s very much conceivable that the Steelers would at least ask for a 2027 first round pick, in exchange for Tomlin’s services.

Assessing the Steelers Selection of Max Iheanachor

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 02:26:00 +0000

Jason Shetler

p/c: Chris Jones

The City of Pittsburgh was front and center for th 2026 NFL Draft. With the 21st overall pick, Pittsburgh selected Arizona State offensive tackle Max Iheanachor - the first draft choice in the Mike McCarthy Era of Steelers football.

The selection of Iheanachor marks the third time in four years that the Steelers have gone offensive tackle, with Broderick Jones being taken in 2023 and Troy Fautanu in 2024.

At 6’5, 321 pounds, Iheanachor is a native of Nigeria, who grew up playing soccer, but never football.

After playing at East Los Angeles College, Iheanachor transferred to Arizona State, where he became a starter in 2024. During the 2025 season, he was named second-team All-Big 12.

Iheanachor ran a 40 time of 4.91 at the NFL Combine. Entering the draft, most scouts rated him as either the sixth or seventh best offensive tackle.

Assessment of the pick: While there is potential to be had with Iheanachor, he’s considered a project, who may not be a starter right away.

Iheanachor played primarily right tackle in college, although he’s shown the versatility to play on either side.

Broderick Jones is currently dealing with a significant neck issue, and depending how high the Steelers are on Dylan Cook, perhaps Iheanachor could transition over to left tackle, when training camp begins. If he stays at right tackle, then there could be the possibility of Troy Fautanu moving to guard. Isaac Seumalo signed a three year, $31.5 million dollar contract with the Arizona Cardinals earlier this offseason, so it might lead to Fautanu becoming the Steelers new left guard.

The Iheanachor pick is a reach, in my opinion, as he was projected to go at the conclusion of the first round/early second round. However, I’m willing to reserve judgement for right now.