{"id":450002,"date":"2025-11-26T08:38:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T08:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/450002\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T08:38:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T08:38:14","slug":"latest-on-pirates-offseason-pursuits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/450002\/","title":{"rendered":"Latest On Pirates’ Offseason Pursuits"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pirates are looking to upgrade their offense for next year and are seemingly casting a wide net. They reportedly made a run at Josh Naylor<\/a> before he re-signed with the Mariners and have been connected to free agent Kyle Schwarber<\/a>. Per a report from Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic<\/a>, they are also considering free agents such as Jorge Polanco<\/a>, Kazuma Okamoto<\/a> and Ryan O\u2019Hearn<\/a>. They have also checked in with the Cardinals about trade candidates Brendan Donovan<\/a>, Lars Nootbaar<\/a> and Nolan Gorman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a long time since the Pirates have been big players in the offseason but recent<\/a> reporting<\/a> has suggested they could be more active this winter, at least relatively speaking. No one is expecting them to suddenly be a player for someone like Kyle Tucker<\/a> or Bo Bichette<\/a> but there is some smoke suggesting they could push things further than in the past. They\u2019ve still never given a free agent a guarantee larger than the three years and $39MM they gave to Francisco Liriano<\/a> over a decade ago<\/a>. Their most recent multi-year deal<\/a> for a free agent was two years for Ivan Nova<\/a> in 2016.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a low bar to clear but it\u2019s possible the Bucs set new benchmarks in those categories. Per The Athletic, it\u2019s possible that is related to the upcoming expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement. The CBA is up just over a year from now and teams may want to look like they are spending their revenue sharing money, in order to keep receiving it in the next CBA. However, the report suggests this is likely more of an issue for the Marlins than the Bucs since Pittsburgh got their competitive balance tax number over $105MM in 2025. That was the target for the A\u2019s in 2025 as they looked to increase their CBT number in order to avoid a grievance from the MLBPA.<\/p>\n

Even if the CBA stuff isn\u2019t relevant, there are plenty of straightforward baseball reasons for the Pirates to get more aggressive. They haven\u2019t made the postseason since 2015 and haven\u2019t finished above .500 since 2018. They have a strong collection of controllable and affordable starting pitchers. The group is headlined by Paul Skenes<\/a>, who is controlled for four more seasons, but he\u2019s just a year away from arbitration and the associated salary increases. Konnor Griffin<\/a> is considered by some to be the top prospect in the sport right now. He reached Double-A this year and could make his big league debut in 2026, even though he doesn\u2019t turn 20 years old until April.<\/p>\n

Put it all together and there\u2019s a good case that now is the time to strike. Upgrading the offense is an obvious goal. The team had a collective .231\/.305\/.350 batting line in 2025. That resulted in an 82 wRC+, putting them ahead of just the Rockies among MLB clubs. Spencer Horwitz<\/a> was the only guy on the team to post a wRC+ higher than 101. They have a lot of work to do but a lot of ways they can add.<\/p>\n

Polanco has spent many years as a strong bat who can play the infield. He had an injury-marred 2024 but bounced back with the Mariners in 2025. He hit 26 home runs and slashed .265\/.326\/.495 for a 132 wRC. Early in the year, the Mariners frequently kept him in the designated hitter slot, as it seemed he wasn\u2019t 100% recovered from his knee surgery. However, later in the year, he was playing second base fairly regularly.<\/p>\n

MLBTR predicted<\/a> Polanco could secure a three-year, $42MM deal this offseason. That would surpass the aforementioned Liriano deal, but only barely. The Bucs have Horwitz at first base but their infield is fairly open apart from that. As mentioned, Griffin coming up in 2026 to take over shortstop is a possibility but probably not something to be banked on today. Otherwise, Pittsburgh has a cluster of multi-positional infield guys like Jared Triolo<\/a>, Nick Gonzales<\/a>, Nick Yorke<\/a>, Tsung-Che Cheng<\/a> and Enmanuel Vald\u00e9z<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Polanco would be an obvious upgrade over the guys in that cluster, who could each end up in utility roles or optioned to the minors. However, he\u2019s sure to have interest elsewhere. For instance, the Mariners are known to want to bring him back.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Hearn wouldn\u2019t be as smooth of a fit. He\u2019s best suited to be a first baseman, where the Bucs have Horwitz. The designated hitter spot is open right now, though it\u2019s possible the Pirates and Andrew McCutchen<\/a> circle back to each other later. O\u2019Hearn can play a bit of outfield and the Bucs do have room there next to Oneil Cruz<\/a> and Bryan Reynolds<\/a>, so perhaps there\u2019s a way to make it work.<\/p>\n

He is coming off a three-year run wherein he slashed .277\/.343\/.445 for a 121 wRC+. That\u2019s a strong stretch but he\u2019s a tad on the older side for a position player free agent since he\u2019s 32. MLBTR predicted he could secure a two-year, $26MM deal. If that proves to be correct, the Bucs wouldn\u2019t even have to stretch into uncharted waters to get it done.<\/p>\n

Okamoto is a bit more of a wild card since he\u2019s coming over from Japan and isn\u2019t proven as a major leaguer but reports suggest he should be a viable big league bat. He hit at least 27 home runs in seven straight seasons of Nippon Professional Baseball from 2018 to 2024. In 2025, he was limited by injury to just 69 games but still hit 15 homers and slashed .327\/.416\/.598 for a 210 wRC+. There are mixed opinions about whether he can stick at third base or if he\u2019s destined to move to first.<\/p>\n

MLBTR predicted him to land a four-year, $64MM deal. The signing club will also owe a posting fee to the Yomiuri Giants, relative to the size of the guarantee. If he does secure a $64MM deal, the posting fee would be $11.5MM. Put those two figures together and the Bucs might have to double their commitment to Liriano to get something done here.<\/p>\n

As for the guys in St. Louis, the Cardinals are known to be entering a rebuilding phase. They kicked things off by dealing<\/a> Sonny Gray<\/a> to the Red Sox today, the first of several seller moves expected from that club this offseason. Donovan and Nootbaar are each controlled for another two years. Assuming the Cards don\u2019t expect to return to contention in that window, it makes sense to listen on both. Gorman is controlled for three more seasons but is also less established as a viable big leaguer, so the Cards probably aren\u2019t clinging to him too tightly.<\/p>\n

Since he is a strong hitter and can play multiple positions, Donovan makes sense as a target for almost every team. He\u2019s already been publicly<\/a> connected<\/a> to the Astros, Royals and Guardians but that\u2019s presumably not an exhaustive list of his suitors. He has hit .282\/.361\/.411 for a 119 wRC+ in his career while playing all four infield spots and the outfield corners. He underwent sports hernia surgery at the end of the 2025 season but is expected to be fine by spring training.<\/p>\n

Nootbaar doesn\u2019t have Donovan\u2019s versatility, as he\u2019s just an outfielder. His bat is enticing but he\u2019s coming off a down year and his health status is more questionable. From 2022 to 2024, he slashed .246\/.351\/.426 for a wRC+ of 118. In 2025, he dropped to a .234\/.325\/.361 line and 96 wRC+. He recently underwent surgery to shave down Haglund\u2019s deformities on both heels and may not be fully recuperated by the start of 2026.<\/p>\n

Gorman has real power and can take his walks but also has problems with strikeouts. He has 74 home runs in his 1,581 plate appearances but has also been punched out at an untenable 34% clip. Since the start of 2024, he has a .204\/.284\/.385 line and 87 wRC+. He has mostly played second base but has had a lot of time at third as well, in addition to brief showings at first and in left field.<\/p>\n

Donovan is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz<\/a> to make just $5.4MM next year, with Nootbaar projected for $5.7MM and Gorman $2.9MM. That makes them all more affordable than the free agent options but the Bucs would also have to send prospects the other way.<\/p>\n

It can sometimes be difficult to pull off trades among teams who share a division but the Bucs don\u2019t seem to mind. They recently lined up a notable deal with the Reds, sending<\/a> Ke\u2019Bryan Hayes<\/a> to Cincinnati ahead of the deadline. If the Cards aren\u2019t going to contend for the next few years, perhaps they wouldn\u2019t be bothered if their former players are in Pittsburgh during that window.<\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pirates are looking to upgrade their offense for next year and are seemingly casting a wide net.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":440771,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5,4492,120,3685,1179,4,1893,626],"class_list":{"0":"post-450002","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-brendan-donovan","10":"tag-jorge-polanco","11":"tag-kazuma-okamoto","12":"tag-lars-nootbaar","13":"tag-mlb","14":"tag-nolan-gorman","15":"tag-ryan-ohearn"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115615098709558020","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=450002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=450002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=450002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}