Hell has frozen over. Or at least it has the chance to.
Based off of what ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote this morning, the Pittsburgh Pirates are going to be aggressive in free agency this winter and are in on a number of top-tier available players.
Among the players the Pirates are in on is National League MVP runner-up Kyle Schwarber, who has spent the last four seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. While Schwarber performed extremely well as Philadelphia’s designated hitter each of those seasons, none were better than his most recent.
Schwarber was named an All-Star for the second time in his career and played in all 162 games. He led the NL with 56 home runs and led baseball with 132 RBI to accompany a .240/.365/.563 batting line (150 OPS+).
For context Schwarber’s 56 home runs were nearly half of the 117 the Pirates hit as a team in 2025 while his 132 RBI were nearly a quarter of their 561.
You want an instant upgrade to the lineup? There it is. He’s still only 32 years old, by the way.
In addition to Schwarber, Passan notes that the Pirates are interested in Japanese sluggers Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto, both of whom project to end up at first base.
Of the two, Murakami is a better fit given that he’s a left-handed hitter and is 25 years old compared to Okamoto, who is 29. But Murakami is projected to land a contract that could wind up closer to $200 million, whereas Okamato is looking at an eight-figure salary.
Will the Pirates land any of the three sluggers? Time will tell. But given that they are even mentioned as teams with interest is an encouraging development for a team that has annually shied away from the top of the free agent market.
Pirates Made Push for Josh Naylor
As further proof of the Pirates’ aggressiveness early on in the offseason, Passan also noted that they made a push for first baseman Josh Naylor before he re-signed with the Seattle Mariners for five years and $92.5 million.
While the biggest contract the Pirates have ever given in free agency is three years and $39 million to Francisco Liriano over a decade ago, Passan said that the Pirates were willing to spend more than twice that sum on Naylor before his decision to stay in Seattle.
Again, an encouraging sign of at least showing some effort and urgency.
Konnor Griffin Opening Day Shortstop?
In another somewhat unexpected development, Passan says the Pirates are seriously considering having top prospect Konnor Griffin be the team’s shortstop come Opening Day in March. The indication is that he will have a chance to win the job out of spring training.
Griffin, 19, is the top prospect in baseball after a sensational first professional season that saw him climb all the way to Double-A Altoona.
It would be a risk to bypass Triple-A, but it would be hard to argue with promoting the best player in the minor leagues to a team that is in desperate need of offensive help.
And an Opening Day lineup with both Griffin and Paul Skenes? That’s a good foundation.
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