Pirates given bleak 9.0% playoff projection from ESPN after trade deadline

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been one of the worst teams in baseball the last few seasons, but this year, there's been some renewed hope. Paul Skenes, Konnor Griffin, Brandon Lowe, and many others should have made this season special.

It's actually gone well overall, but when it comes to making the postseason, things aren't going well. Unfortunately, the Pirates' odds of making the playoffs aren't great.

According to a post-trade deadline update from ESPN's Bradford Doolittle, the Pirates have just a 9.0% chance of making it to the postseason this year.

Pirates given jsut 9.0% chance to make postseason from ESPN

"18. Pittsburgh Pirates. Win average: 80.0 (Last: 82.0). In the playoffs: 9.0% (Last: 24.6%). Champions: 0.1% (Last: 0.6%)," Doolittle shared.

These updated odds for the Pirates are quite bleak. Even being at 24.6% chance of making the playoffs wouldn't be good at this time of season. But, being already below 10.0% is a bit worrying.

It's made even worse for Pittsburgh after they bought at the trade deadline. Camilo Doval and Luke Weaver were two big moves for this club, but they also added Kirby Yates and Lake Bachar on deadline day.

MORE: How Cubs inadvertently helped Dodgers trade for Tarik Skubal

This team should be better than it is, but with Skenes struggling, Griffin, Oneil Cruz, Mitch Keller, and Ryan O'Hearn on the injured list, things are not exactly looking great in Pittsburgh right now.

Of course, the Pirates are only 4.5 games back in the NL Wild Card, and could make up that difference with plenty of time to spare, with most of August and all of September to still go.

But the margins of error are getting slimmer and slimmer with each passing day. A loss for the Pirates will make reaching the postseason a lot more difficult.

They're 57-60 on the season, and should be seen as a fringe contender at this point. But if they can't start turning things around, the Pirates might not have much of a chance of making the postseason this year.

More MLB news:

• Cubs land Kevin Gausman in blockbuster trade with Blue Jays
• Red Sox expected to trade Jarren Duran during offseason, not MLB trade deadline
• What did Mets get for Freddy Peralta? Rays send three prospects for 4.99 ERA SP
• Tigers receive lousy grade for Tarik Skubal trade to Dodgers from ESPN
• Royals DFA former Phillies All-Star reliever Matt Strahm after trade deadline