With the door to the Major League transfer market open, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ move is drawing attention.
“ESPN” predicted the major league transfer market on the 18th local time, noting the Pittsburgh Pirates’ move, saying, “There is nothing clearer than a team having the most unexpected winter.”
Pittsburgh has consistently been a team known for not spending money. Since signing a three-year, $39 million contract with left-hander Francisco Liriano in the winter of 2014, he has not signed a contract beyond this amount.
사진 확대 Pittsburgh can’t waste any more of the Skins’ heyday. 사진=ⓒAFPBBNews = News1
In the meantime, the team’s performance has bottomed out. Since advancing to the wild card in 2015, he has never played in the postseason. Fans, tired of the continued sluggishness, expressed dissatisfaction by chanting “Sell the Team.”
ESPN introduced Pittsburgh’s run. They said Josh Naylor was ready to invest more than double the amount before renewing his contract with the Seattle Mariners for five years and $92.5 million.
The media also reported that Pittsburgh is also interested in Kyle Schwarber, one of the FA’s biggest fish. In short, he expressed his willingness to recruit large-scale FA players.
For Pittsburgh, this is the right time to invest. Cy Young Award ace Paul Skins is in his prime, and young starters such as Mike Burrows, Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler are starting to burst their potential.
On top of that, another young prospect stands out. ESPN reported that Pittsburgh is considering 19-year-old prospect Connor Griffin as its new starting shortstop.
Griffin, the ninth overall pick in the 2024 draft, made his professional debut in Single A last season and went through the top Single A and Double A, hitting .333 on-base percentage of .415 with a slugging percentage of .527 21 home runs, 94 RBIs and 65 steals in 122 games.
If he makes his big league debut next year, he will be the first teenager to make his big league debut since Juan Soto in 2018.
ESPN predicted that Griffin’s debut could be a “complex problem,” saying, “A player with the same skills as Griffin doesn’t have to rush because the team is “Win Now.”
Labor-management conflict can be a variable. The current labor-management agreement expires in December 2026. If the two sides do not agree on a new labor-management agreement, the season cannot be held. ESPN predicted that if Major League Baseball fails to play 2027 seasons in a labor-management dispute, players will try to make up for lost service time and there is a possibility that Pittsburgh will not rush him to make his big league debut because there is a possibility that the period for players to enter the FA market will be shortened.
Nevertheless, ESPN introduced Pittsburgh as a team that is noteworthy enough this winter. It is noteworthy how Pittsburgh, a representative ‘jjaedol club’ in the Major League, will take action.
[KIM JAE HO, MK Sports Reporter]