Pittsburgh Pirates offseason reviewed

The Pirates’ ongoing rebuild showed some encouraging signs last year but it didn’t prompt the front office to go out and win the offseason. They made some modest additions as their focus remains clearly on the future, but did sign another core member of their club to a sizable extension.

Major league signings

• LHP Aroldis Chapman: One year, $10.5M
• LHP Martín Pérez: One year, $8M
• DH/OF Andrew McCutchen: One year, $5M
• OF Michael A. Taylor: One year, $4M
• 1B Rowdy Tellez: One year, $3.2M
• C Yasmani Grandal: One year, $2.5M
• LHP Josh Fleming: One year, split deal ($850K salary in majors)
• C Ali Sánchez: One year major league deal (can be controlled for five further seasons if still on roster)

2024 spending: $33.2M (not including Fleming or Sanchez)
Total spending: $33.2M (not including Fleming or Sanchez)

Option decisions

• Team declined $3.25M option on LHP Jarlín García

Trades and claims

• Traded RHP Cody Bolton to Mariners for cash
• Claimed RHP Roddery Muñoz from Nationals (later traded to Marlins for cash)
• Acquired LHP Marco Gonzales and cash from Braves in exchange for PTBNL or cash
• Acquired OF Billy McKinney from Yankees for international bonus pool space
• Acquired OF Edward Olivares from Royals for IF Deivis Nadal
• Claimed OF Canaan Smith-Njigba from Mariners (after having previously lost him to Mariners on waivers)

Notable minor league signings

• Gilberto Celestino, Ben Heller, Ryder Ryan, Jake Lamb, Michael Plassmeyer, Sergio Alcántara, Wily Peralta, Brent Honeywell Jr., Connor Sadzeck, Chase Anderson, Eric Lauer, Domingo Germán

Extensions

• RHP Mitch Keller: Four years, $71.5575M in new money

Notable losses

• Vince Velasquez, García, Chase De Jong, Duane Underwood Jr. Osvaldo Bido (non-tendered), Tucupita Marcano, Alfonso Rivas, Bolton, Vinny Capra, Yerry De Los Santos, Miguel Andújar, Ángel Perdomo, Thomas Hatch (released to sign in NPB), Andre Jackson (released to sign in NPB), Max Kranick

2023 was the fifth straight losing season for the Bucs, but they at least showed some hints that maybe the rebuild was nearing its end. They started out hot and were leading the division for a time, holding that spot until the middle of June. They eventually faded and finished the year at 76-86, not too shabby, especially considering they were without shortstop Oneil Cruz for the vast majority of the season.

Some fans may have hoped for that semi-surge to be followed by an aggressive winter, but it ended up being fairly modest, at least in terms of additions. Starting pitching was a clear priority coming into the offseason after the Pittsburgh rotation posted a collective earned run average of 4.88 in 2023. That need only grew when Johan Oviedo required Tommy John surgery in November, putting him out of action for the entire 2024 season.

The Bucs seemed to cast a fairly wide net in their pursuits of starting pitching, though they were mostly connected to guys who could be had fairly cheaply. Jack Flaherty was a target and he could have perhaps been signed for a modest one-year “prove it” deal, but he eventually got it from the Tigers instead. Yariel Rodríguez and Shota Imanaga had plenty of interest but were somewhat unproven. The Bucs seemed to sniff around, but Rodríguez got a five-year, $32M deal from the Jays, with a modest $6.4M average annual value. There were rumors Imanaga could get $100M, but his market softened and the Bucs got involved, though he ended up settling for four years and $53M from the Cubs. They were also interested in the controllable pitchers of the Marlins, particularly Edward Cabrera, but nothing got done there either. Those talks carried into spring training, but Cabrera is now dealing with a shoulder issue. Whether that impacted talks isn’t known, but it’s certainly plausible.

In the end, the Pirates added a couple of veterans at a modest cost. Martín Pérez was signed to a one-year, $8M deal,while Marco Gonzales was acquired via trade. Gonzales is making a salary of $12M this year but will only be paid $3M by the Pirates, through convoluted means that are explained by here by Ethan Hullihen of Bucs On Deck.

Those two could perhaps add some veteran stability to a fairly young and inexperienced rotation, but neither is coming off an especially strong season. Pérez had a 4.98 ERA as a starter for the Rangers and got bumped to the bullpen late in the year. Gonzales required surgery for a nerve issue in his forearm after 10 starts with a 5.22 ERA.

The Pirates seemed set at catcher coming into the winter, as prospects Endy Rodríguez and Henry Davis both cracked the major leagues last year. But similar to the Oviedo situation, it was reported in December that Rodríguez would need UCL surgery and miss the entire 2024 season.

Less than two weeks before that news came out, the club had signed Ali Sánchez to a major league deal, perhaps indicating they already suspected the Rodríguez news was coming. Regardless, they had interest in Gary Sánchez as well but eventually added Yasmani Grandal on a modest deal to bolster the depth with Rodríguez out.

Davis didn’t catch much last year, only spending two innings behind the plate as Rodríguez handled the bulk of the work. Davis spent far more time in right field, as it seemed the organization had a bit more faith in the defensive abilities of Rodríguez. But the injury has forced Davis to don the tools of ignorance again this year. He has seemed to handle himself well in spring, both behind the dish and standing beside it, having hit .306/.381/.694. If he succeeds back there all year, the club may have a decision to make once Rodríguez is healthy, though many clubs split time between two different catchers these days.

First base was also a target, as Carlos Santana had most of the playing time there last year, but he was traded to the Brewers at the deadline. The club had some reported interest in bringing Santana back and was also connected to Josh Naylor of the Guardians, but they nabbed Rowdy Tellez to be their primary first baseman. He’s coming off a down year but hit 35 homers in 2022, so he’s a fine bounceback pickup at $3.2M.

They also brought back franchise icon Andrew McCutchen for $5M to serve as a designated hitter and veteran leader. He’s been quite open about his desire to continue playing in Pittsburgh for the rest of his career so it wasn’t a surprise to see the two sides link up an another one-year pact. The next home run he hits will be the 300th of his career, so Bucs fans will have a fun milestone chase early in the season.

Elsewhere, the Pittsburgh bolstered its bullpen with a surprising $10.5M splash on Aroldis Chapman, which actually counts as their largest free agent deal of the winter. He should be able to lengthen the bullpen after a return to form in 2023. The Pirates will surely be happy if Chapman ends up part of a push for contention late in the year, but if that doesn’t happen, they could hope to follow the path of Kansas City. The Royals signed Chapman last year and flipped him to the Rangers at the deadline, netting Cole Ragans in return. He’s earning nearly three times as much in 2024 as he did in 2023, so he won’t be quite the bargain for trade partners this time around, but high-end relief pitching is always in demand regardless.

As the slow offseason left various players looking for jobs well into February and even into March, the Pirates were able to take advantage by signing Michael A. Taylor for a modest $4M sum. He was reportedly looking to match Kevin Kiermaier and Harrison Bader, who each got $10.5M, but he was one of many players who got boxed out by the drying up of spending in recent months.

The Bucs should be the beneficiary of Taylor’s poor fortune, as he’ll give them an elite defensive center fielder who will strike out a bunch but also likely pop a few home runs. By having former center fielders Bryan Reynolds and Jack Suwinski in the corners, they could have strong defense in all three spots with regularity.

The most significant deal of the winter was for a player already on the roster, as the Pirates signed Mitch Keller to a five-year extension worth $77M. He already had agreed to a $5.4425M salary for 2024, which was maintained as part of the extension, so it added four years and $71.5575M in new money. Keller was slated for free agency after 2025, so it extended the club’s window of control by three years.

That has been the M.O. for the Bucs in recent years. As shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, the largest deals given out by the club since Ben Cherington took over as general manager in November of 2019 have all been extensions. Bryan Reynolds got a two-year, $13.5M deal to avoid arbitration before eventually signing his seven-year, $100M deal. Ke’Bryan Hayes got $70M over eight years and now Keller is signed long-term as well. Meanwhile, they haven’t signed any free agent to a multi-year deal, with Chapman’s $10.5M being the largest deal given on a one-year pact.

In a sense, that shows that the club has stayed the course. They have been building for the future for a long time, and their priorities are shown in that disparity of investment. Cherington said in December that he anticipated a payroll increase relative to last year, which has technically come to fruition. RosterResource lists this year’s payroll at $85MM. That’s 29th in the league, ahead of only the Athletics, but Cot’s Baseball Contracts had the Bucs at just $73M last year.

The focus is still on the future, and the fortunes of the club will be largely be written by those already in the system. The club has shown their faith in Reynolds, Hayes and Keller as they continue to monitor Cruz, Davis, Rodríguez and Suwinski. Unproven players like Jared Triolo, Paul Skenes, Quinn Priester, Bubba Chandler, Jared Jones, Termarr Johnson and others could factor into the mix this year or in the near future. Skenes, last year’s No. 1 overall draft pick, seems likely to join Keller, Perez and Gonzales in the rotation as soon as this summer.

The Pirates are still arguably the weakest team in the National League Central. Both the Projected Standings at FanGraphs and the PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus have them finishing in the basement. But the division is fairly wide open and doesn’t have a clear favorite, which means there’s a path for the Pirates if things break right, either this year or down the line.

The club will likely have a different offseason someday, when they truly feel contention is at hand. But for now, it’s been another winter of modest investment in the present and a heavy focus on the future.