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ORLANDO, Fla. — In his first offseason as the Pirates’ permanent manager, Don Kelly has had plenty of firsts. Yet another came in Orlando, where Kelly is attending his first MLB winter meetings.

Kelly met with reporters on Monday afternoon. Like every conversation involving the Pirates, it didn’t take long for attention to turn to reports that the Pirates have had interest in several high-profile free agents. Kelly called it “really exciting.”

“We all know how much 2026 means, and a lot of discussions are going on about building towards that,” Kelly said. “Those started right after the season was over this year — obviously, 2025 didn’t go as we had hoped. ... Just covering every avenue that we possibly can to try to improve the team for next year.”

Kelly didn’t name any specific tar

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