The Pirates finalized their two-year deal with
Ryan O’Hearn on Thursday. That signing paired with the
Brandon Lowe trade gives the Bucs a couple of middle-of-the-order bats from the left side.
General manager Ben Cherington spoke with reporters at O’Hearn’s introductory press conference and highlighted two areas the team is still looking to add. “If we could add someone on the left side of the infield, that’s something we’ll keep an eye out for. We’ll remain opportunistic in the outfield, see what comes our way,” the GM said (link via
Colin Beazley of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Cherington also said they’d like to “add back” to the pitching staff after they dealt
Mike Burrows and
Johan Oviedo in the respective Lowe and
Jhostynxon Garcia trades.
The left side of the infield is an expected target. Pittsburgh was involved on NPB third baseman
Kazuma Okamoto before he signed a four-year contract with Toronto. They’ve been
loosely linked to
Eugenio Suárez, the second-best available free agent at the position after
Alex Bregman. If Suárez’s asking price also proves too rich, the Bucs could look to a one-year deal for
Yoán Moncada,
Willi Castro or
Ramón Urías.
It’d be more difficult to find an everyday answer at shortstop. There aren’t any free agent options beyond
Bo Bichette, assuming they’re not interested in an
Isiah Kiner-Falefa reunion. There hasn’t been any kind of trade market at the position. The Pirates would only be interested in a stopgap anyway.
Konnor Griffin is arguably the best prospect in baseball. Pittsburgh hasn’t closed the door on him forcing his way to the big leagues out of Spring Training even though he only has 21 games of Double-A experience. Even if that’s too ambitious a timeline, he figures to be up at some point in 2026.
Unless Griffin breaks camp, they’re projected for a
Nick Gonzales/
Jared Triolo pairing on the left side. Gonzales is a former top 10 pick but has a middling .257/.300/.375 batting line in parts of three seasons. He’s miscast as a shortstop. Gonzales was drafted as a second baseman and has mostly played the keystone with varying reviews from scouts and defensive metrics. He has 230 MLB innings at shortstop and has only started one game at third base.
Adding a third baseman would allow the Bucs to use Triolo as their stopgap shortstop. The 27-year-old is a better defender at third base but has more shortstop experience than Gonzales. He also has the superior defensive grades as a second baseman. Triolo has a similarly light bat, carrying a .236/.320/.347 slash in three seasons. A strong second half (.276/.353/.422) has earned him multiple votes of confidence from Cherington, yet he’s not going to firmly stand in the way of an upgrade.
Suárez might be the only clear improvement on the free agent market among realistic targets for the Bucs. There’s still time for a late-offseason trade opportunity to present itself. The Phillies run at Bichette, for instance, would almost certainly lead to an
Alec Bohm trade if a deal comes together.
Left field doesn’t seem to be as big a priority. Pittsburgh acquired Garcia and
Jake Mangum via trade. O’Hearn has the ability to work as a semi-regular corner outfielder on top of his first base/DH split alongside
Spencer Horwitz. Lowe has outfield experience as well, though Cherington said he’ll work as the primary second baseman. Pittsburgh also tendered a contract to
Jack Suwinski, so he’s still in the mix as a depth piece.
Any rotation pickup is likely to be on a one-year deal late in the winter.
Paul Skenes,
Mitch Keller and
Bubba Chandler are locked into the rotation.
Braxton Ashcraft should be in there as well, though he worked in a swing role last season and only once pitched beyond five innings in a start. Rookies
Hunter Barco and
Thomas Harrington would compete for the fifth starter role.
Carmen Mlodzinski could get another look as a starter but struggled in that role early last season and worked 2-3 inning stints in the second half.
Jared Jones will hopefully be back from elbow surgery by the All-Star Break.
There’s plenty of talent, but only Skenes and Keller are established sources of innings. Pittsburgh generally signs a fifth starter to a one-year contract worth $8MM or less. That’s often a soft-tossing lefty whom they can get for cheap and rely on PNC Park — the most difficult for right-handed home run power — to get decent results.
Jose Quintana,
Tyler Anderson,
Martín Pérez,
Andrew Heaney and trade pickup
Bailey Falter have all fallen in that bucket. Quintana, Anderson, Pérez and
Patrick Corbin are speculative possibilities this offseason.
