In a break from the norm, rumors have been swirling around the Pittsburgh Pirates through the early weeks of the offseason.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that the Pirates not only made a run at first baseman Josh Naylor before he re-signed with the Seattle Mariners, but that they are in on free agent designated hitter Kyle Schwarber and the top two free agent hitters out of Japan — Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto.
Schwarber and Murakami are highly unlikely to sign in Pittsburgh, but interest in the pair is a sign the Pirates are willing to spend. While those two players are near the top of the free agent market, there are additional players the Pirates are taking a look at.
Pittsburgh is considering infielder Jorge Polanco and first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, who double-downed on the Pirates’ interest in Schwarber and Okamoto.
Polanco had a strong bounce-back season with the Seattle Mariners and finished the year with a .265/.326/.495 batting line in 138 games. The 32-year-old hit 30 doubles, 26 home runs drove in 78 runs for a team that made it to the American League Championship Series.
Polanco spends most of his time at second base these days, an area the Pirates could look to upgrade after getting a .651 OPS out of the position this past season. He also could fill in at shortstop and third base, though he’s only played in 29 games at the latter.
O’Hearn, meanwhile, could take one of the corner outfield spots and serve as a platoon option for the left-handed hitting Spencer Horwitz at first base.
The 32-year-old split the 2025 season between the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres and was an All-Star for the first time in his career. In a career-high 144 games, he slashed .281/.366/.437 with 21 doubles, a triple, 17 home runs and 63 RBI.
Mentioned in this article: Pittsburgh Pirates
More about: Pirates