Photo provided by Matt Lynch
Friday is the non-tender deadline in Major League Baseball. Teams must decide whether or not to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible and pre-arbitration players for the 2026 season.
The Pirates got a jump on things on Thursday night when they avoided arbitration with outfielder Jack Suwinski and right-handed pitcher Yohan RamÃrez. Suwinski agreed to a $1.25 million deal for 2026 while RamÃrez and the Pirates agreed to an $825,000 salary, a source told Pittsburgh Baseball Now.
Both players looked like non-tender candidates, but the Pirates decided to work out deals for well-under their respective projected salaries.
While it came as a surprise to see both sides come to an agreement — Suwinski in particular — and his salary is guaranteed, it doesn’t mean much else in the grand scheme of things.
Suwinski was a key piece of the Pirates’ lineup in 2023 when he led the team with with 26 home runs and a .793 OPS and drove in 74 runs in 144 games.
But the 27-year-old hasn’t found nearly the same success over the past two seasons. He hit just .182 with a .588 OPS, nine home runs and 26 RBI in 88 games in 2024. This past season, Suwinski only appeared in 59 games and saw his batting line dip to .147/.281/.253 with only three home runs.
But even though the Pirates avoided arbitration with Suwinski and agreed to a deal $450,000 below what he was projected to earn, it doesn’t mean the outfielder will be on the club’s roster come Opening Day against the Mets in New York at the end of March.
It doesn’t even mean that Suwinski will remain on the Pirates’ 40-man roster all offseason. If Pittsburgh signs a free agent or makes a trade and a spot is needed, Suwinski can be designated for assignment or traded if another team has interest.
But if Suwinski is still with the organization on spring training, he’ll get a chance to try and earn a spot on the Pirates’ 26-man roster. If he plays well this spring and breaks camp when the Pirates head north, he’ll earn $1.25 million with Pittsburgh for 2026.
If he doesn’t show enough, Suwinski is out of options, meaning the Pirates will have to subject him to waivers, but any team who claims him would absorb his $1.25 million salary.
But essentially, the Pirates paid $1.25 million to try and give Suwinski one last chance to get back to the player he was in 2023. If not, there’s a good chance he won’t play for the Pirates this coming season.
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