As we do every Sunday prior to a game, I'll provide updates from Ben Cherington's team-produced radio show with Greg Brown right here this afternoon:

• After assistant general manager Steve Sanders filled in last week, Cherington is indeed present for his show this week. 

• While the Pirates have lost seven of their last nine games dating back to the beginning of the Cubs series in Chicago, Cherington said he thinks there is still a strong level of engagement and focus amongst the players in the clubhouse. But opportunities will present themselves as far as trades with the deadline coming up in a little over a month. 

"I still believe that the group of players we have in the organization currently can and is capable of playing winning baseball in 2025. I really still believe that, and at the same time, it hasn't happened yet, not nearly consistently enough, and we have to honest about that, too. We have to deliver more to our fans. Bottom line. We know that. This is the time of year where opportunities present themselves. As much as we believe in the group, we have to be honest about where we are and those opportunities will present themselves over the next few weeks. We have to be really clear and intentional about what is going to give us the best chance to win more games as fast as possible and be willing to do the work necessary."

• Cherington said the team must stay open-minded when it comes to trade opportunities. Trading assets for a rental player at the deadline wouldn't make as much sense as it has in the past, but "any consideration of any move can be about making the team better the next day and also making the team better in 2026. I think those are the opportunities we'll be looking for."

• Cherington said the deadline approach doesn't have to be black and white. The club wants to focus on this year and future years.

"The goal will be to just put more wins on the field as fast as we can." 

• Cherington said the goal in utilizing Carmen Mlodzinski and Braxton Ashcraft as bulk relievers is to, first and foremost, put the pitching staff in the best possible position to prevent runs and, secondly, allow them to continue to develop at the major-league level. 

• Cherington said Johan Oviedo (right lat strain) is still throwing live BPs in Florida and that he isn't "too far away" from pitching in games. 

"Reports have been very strong. He's been up to 97 and having no issues. Bouncing back well."

• A conversation I had with Isiah Kiner-Falefa a few weeks ago regarding the difficulties associated with hitting at PNC Park was mentioned and Cherington was asked if he and the Pirates would consider bringing in the fences to help the offense. Cherington spoke on the uniqueness of PNC Park and said he would "want to be really careful about any material alterations to a ballpark that is as beautiful as this one and really try to think clearly about what the long-term ramifications of that would be." 

Cherington added there are trade offs with these type of alterations: "It might help increase offense if we move the fences in, but it also means you're giving up more runs. There are trade offs with that, as a team that can be built through pitching and defense, what are we valuing? I think we should study it all the time and it's worth doing that."

• Cherington said he spoke with a player after yesterday's game about what can be done to create more consistent offense and one of the things is having more "regular, deeper, tough at-bats" throughout the lineup. One player in particular that Cherington thinks can play a big part in contributing to that is Nick Gonzales.

"Where it's not always going to be a hit, it's not always going to be a great outcome, but tougher at-bats deeper into the lineup. The more of those, the better. When we've been at our healthiest and fullest, we've seen some of that, but we've got to develop more of that. We have to have a deeper group of players who are just having a tough at-bat every time up, even if the outcome is not always a successful base hit or extra-base hit. We think Nick is one of those players that can do that. He does it in his own way, he has his own style and he's made some good adjustments with his swing and his approach to be able to succeed at the major-league level. Don't think we've seen the best of him yet, but he does give us one of those hitters that can be a part of that deeper lineup that we need." 

• Cherington on the situation involving Dennis Santana and a fan in Detroit: "What I did hear was really concerning, the type of language that was being used, and language that would have affected any of us if we were in the shoes of someone in the bullpen. I feel strongly about that. At the same time, we know, I know and Dennis knows that fans are precious to us and we can't do that. There is a reason there's discipline. Underneath that, there are some things that happened that really shouldn't happen and I hope we can clean that up." 

• More from Cherington on Santana: "He's been terrific on and off the field. He's been so reliable, so effective and such a good teammate and person. It is not in his nature to act in the way he did at the end of that sequence. Which, aside from everything I've heard from people, is probably enough for me to know something happened that provoked that. My hope is we can both learn more about what happened and try to eliminate that going forward and also acknowledge it did happen and there's going to understandably be some reaction to that from the league."