The 2024 season had its ups and downs for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The debut of Paul Skenes was the highlight but Pittsburgh had plenty of memorable moments from several impact players to make this season a little more tolerable for fans. The Pirates are six wins away from topping their win total from last year but another season will pass without playoff baseball.
Still, the Pirates seem to have taken a step in the right direction and should want to move forward rather than regress in 2025 and beyond. That means increasing their payroll and an easy way to do that is to sign free agents.
MLB free agency won’t have as many big players this winter as the last, but there are still recognizable names that will demand heavy markets. The Pirates are a team that can offer obvious playing time at multiple positions as they search for upgrades. That may appeal to the crop of free agents they’ll be going after – veteran players likely past their prime looking to contribute to a hopeful contender.
Pittsburgh is unlikely to sign one of the top-of-the-line free agents, Juan Soto and Corbin Burnes among them. However, there are former All-Stars and impact veterans available at reasonable prices. Those should be the ones the Pirates target.
All-Star 1B returns to Pittsburgh
Could the Pirates say hello to an old friend this offseason? Pittsburgh rather infamously dealt Josh Bell during the 2020-21 offseason, trading the first baseman to the Washington Nationals a year after he was an All-Star. It’s safe to say the Pirates did not win that trade, although Bell’s time with the Nats lasted less than two years.
Bell has since been traded midseason in each of the last three years. He’s maintained pretty solid numbers with a .750 OPS and a .254 batting average. He’s averaged 19 home runs and 27 doubles, playing an average of 149 games per year.
Bell has been great for the D-backs since they acquired him in late July. He’s hitting .278 with a .785 OPS, 10 extra-base hits and 20 RBIs. Bell has a .327 average across his last 15 games and is becoming a key cog in Arizona’s lineup.
Bell was an impact player for much of his five-year tenure with the Pirates. Drafted by Pittsburgh in 2011, Bell made his MLB debut in 2016 and finished third in NL Rookie of the Year Award voting the next year. He was named an All-Star in 2019 which was the final year of a rather impressive three-season stretch for Bell.
Bell posted an .836 OPS and averaged 31 doubles, 25 home runs and 89 RBIs from 2017-2019, playing 450 total games. He placed himself among the elite power-hitting first basemen in the league and quickly became a hot commodity once it was clear the Pirates weren’t going to extend him long-term.
The Pirates will have an opening at first with incumbent starter Rowdy Tellez also heading for free agency. Bell would be an upgrade and wouldn’t cost much more than Tellez. As long as there’s no bad blood between the two sides, a Pirates reunion with Josh Bell could happen.
Pirates sign former Yankees catcher
Although many think the catching position has become watered down, there remains lots of talent behind the plate. Several backups/platoon guys are in line to make decent money this offseason. Kyle Higashioka is one of them.
Higashioka is among the best No. 2 catchers in the league and he’s making that true by putting up great numbers with the San Diego Padres in 2024. Higashioka has a .764 OPS with a career-high 16 homers, 43 RBIs and nine doubles. He is 21 plate appearances away from matching his total from last season.
While Higashioka’s average and on-base percentage is down from last year, his OPS is up nearly 80 points. Higashioka’s WAR is also higher than last year according to both Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.
There are few viable catching options on the open market to begin with so teams will be eager to claim a new backstop before all of the decent major leaguers are gone. Kyle Higashioka is among those players and should land plenty of offers.
Joey Bart seems to have found something with the Pirates and should be the frontrunner to be the starter next season. The Pirates should still look for a good backup and Higashiaoka fits the mold.
New closer in the cards?
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Relievers are a crucial part of a team’s success. A good bullpen can turn a mediocre team into a fringe playoff fixture. The Pirates have one of the worst bullpens in baseball this season and its demise includes a fall from grace for Pittsburgh’s All-Star closer David Bednar.
Bednar recently lost his closer role after blowing six saves and holding an ERA above 5.00. He currently has a 5.87 ERA in 57 appearances. He had an ERA under 2.65 every season from 2021-2023 and was an All-Star twice. Now he might never get his closer title back.
If the reason is because the Pirates signed someone like Kirby Yates to replace him then that’s a good move on paper. There is reason to believe Yates’ resurgent season is not a fluke and the 37-year-old can pitch well into his 40s. His Baseball Savant page is littered with red as he’s among the league leaders in several categories including whiff rate, chase rate and strikeout percentage.
Yates is 30 for 31 in save opportunities this year as he’s pitched to a 1.27 ERA in 56 games. Most of his numbers are his best since 2019 when he was named an All-Star and finished with a 1.19 ERA.
Kirby Yates should get a lot of offers due to his track record and now successive seasons of health. Nabbing over 30 saves with a sub-1.50 ERA if he’s able to lock that down is a great way to boost buzz around your name.
Maybe there’s no guarantee Yates can continue his upward trajectory, but he’s worth the Pirates taking a look at for the backend of the bullpen. Pittsburgh’s starting rotation will be too good to waste next season. A great bullpen is necessary for the success of the Pirates in 2025.
