{"id":470996,"date":"2025-12-11T00:53:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T00:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/470996\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T00:53:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T00:53:11","slug":"pirates-in-on-free-agents-but-some-have-their-doubts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/470996\/","title":{"rendered":"Pirates “In On” Free Agents, But Some Have Their Doubts"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been connected to numerous free agents in what is described as a different kind of offseason. General manager Ben Cherington is on record as saying he has more payroll flexibility this offseason than he\u2019s ever had as Pirates GM. (According to my own estimate<\/a> published on these pages previously, he has possibly $65 million in flexibility, minus what he spent to land<\/a> Gregory Soto<\/a> on Tuesday.) He went after the big fish in slugger Kyle Schwarber<\/a>, offering a four-year deal for a reported $125 million. To the surprise of nobody who follows baseball, Schwarber returned<\/a> to the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday. The Phillies retained him with a five-year, $150 million contract.<\/p>\n

\"\"Oct 8, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) celebrates after hitting a two-run home run during the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game three of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Given the Pirates\u2019 track record, there\u2019s skepticism among some baseball insiders, media, and fans about whether the Pirates were serious with their offer to Schwarber. The thought is that they\u2019re making offers that they know won\u2019t be accepted. It\u2019s all a big PR stunt, say the naysayers, that is, whenever they\u2019re not saying nay. Thus, we examine the burning question: Was it real or was it Memorex?<\/p>\n

Pirates Connected to Free Agents: Real or Memorex?<\/p>\n

Reliable sources such as Ken Rosenthal and Jon Heyman have connected the Pirates to virtually every free agent hitter from Ryan O\u2019Hearn<\/a> to Jorge Polanco<\/a> to Eugenio Su\u00e1rez<\/a>, and even trade targets like Jo Adell<\/a>, Brandon Lowe<\/a>, and Ketel Marte<\/a>. On something called The Inside Scoop, Rosenthal defended the Pirates against one of those skeptics, A.J. Pierzynski<\/a>. \u201cI had someone in the industry tell me yesterday, he thinks what the Pirates were doing with Schwarber was performative,\u201d said Rosenthal. \u201cBut if you\u2019re the Pittsburgh Pirates and you throw out a deal for $120 million, when you haven\u2019t paid a free agent more than $39 million in your history. . . it\u2019s certainly a deal that\u2019s in the ballpark.\u201d For Rosenthal, it\u2019s a sign that the Pirates want to be a player in the free agent market.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had someone in the industry tell me yesterday, he thinks what the Pirates were doing with Schwarber was performative.\u201d@Ken_Rosenthal<\/a> on Pirates offer to Kyle Schwarber which ended up being a 4-year $125 million dollar offer. pic.twitter.com\/5VP6ZLt5iz<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The Bucco Beat (@TheBuccoBeat) December 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

The Super Agent<\/p>\n

One important voice who thinks the Pirates are serious in their pursuit of free agents is \u201csuper agent\u201d Scott Boras. At the Winter Meetings on Tuesday, Boras spoke to a group of reporters. According to Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Boras said, \u201cBen and the Pirates have reached out to us on a number of players. They\u2019ve made us very aware that they\u2019re going to be active in the free-agent market, and they intend to add free-agent talent to the roster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe, just maybe, Cherington can get something done with a Boras client. When Cherington was GM of the Boston Red Sox, he spoke to WEEI-FM in Boston about his relationship with Boras. \u201cI think it\u2019s good,\u201d Cherington said. \u201cI\u2019ve worked with Scott on a lot of different things in the past. . . \u00a0When you have a player in your organization who\u2019s represented by Scott, when you\u2019re trying to get something done with that player on the field or in conditioning in the offseason, he\u2019s very helpful in those areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Super Pitcher<\/p>\n

Enter reigning National League Cy Young Award winner<\/a> Paul Skenes<\/a>. He\u2019s offered to lend a hand in recruiting free agents to the Pirates. The day he won the award, a report in NJ.com quoted an unnamed former teammate as saying that Skenes has been hoping for a trade to the New York Yankees. People close to Skenes said that\u2019s nonsense. Skenes himself said his focus is on winning a World Series in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

Skenes plans to sell free agents on his belief that the Pirates aren\u2019t far away from being a contender. He\u2019ll cite their strong, young pitching staff. Pittsburgh isn\u2019t a bad place to live, either. It\u2019s affordable \u2013 OK, maybe a free agent who signs a nine-figure contract won\u2019t be concerned as much about that \u2013 and the people will generally leave a celebrity alone. So, there\u2019s another important voice that believes in what Cherington is doing.<\/p>\n

Your Attention, Please<\/p>\n

We live in what author Jenny Odell<\/a> has described as the \u201cattention economy.\u201d Cable TV news, talk radio, news sites, and social media are all competing for your attention. The way they get it and keep it is by feeding you items designed to keep you resentful, angry, and fearful. The noise keeps getting louder, and you keep coming back for more. Your favorite team stinks, and that means that somehow, you\u2019re getting screwed. The only solution is to stay tuned in or logged on.<\/p>\n

Growing up in Pittsburgh in the 1970s, I listened to a sports talk show hosted by Tom Bender on WTAE radio. Bender didn\u2019t shout. He didn\u2019t engage in the radio equivalent of clickbait. He was just a nice man who knew sports and gave fans a forum to discuss them. I called in many times during my formative years. His show would never survive in today\u2019s toxic environment.<\/p>\n

Pirates owner Bob Nutting may well be the most hated man in Pittsburgh. Thus, talk radio, social media, and even the newspapers feed Pittsburghers a steady diet of Nutting, Nutting, Nutting, and for dessert, more Nutting. Pirates fans feel he\u2019s the cheapest owner in sports. Fans of other small-market teams in baseball feel the same way about their owner. But for the sake of discussion, let\u2019s accept the premise that Nutting is the cheapest owner in sports.<\/p>\n

The Offer to Schwarber<\/p>\n

Now that I have your attention, let\u2019s discuss what every first-year law student knows. To have a binding contract, five elements must be present:<\/p>\n

An offer must be made.
\nThe offer must be accepted.
\nThere must be consideration. In layman\u2019s terms, each party must promise to give something or do something. If I agree to cut your grass and you agree to pay me $20, we have a contract. If I promise to cut your grass and you don\u2019t promise me anything in exchange, we don\u2019t have a contract, and you can\u2019t sue me in court if I don\u2019t cut your grass.
\nThe parties must be of legal age and have the mental capacity to understand what they\u2019re doing.
\nThe contract must be legal. A contract to cut your grass is legal. A contract to kill your wife\u2019s boyfriend isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

(Disclaimer: None of this is meant to be legal advice. If you\u2019re entering into a contract, consult an attorney, not a baseball article. Oh \u2013 and don\u2019t contact me about cutting your grass.)<\/p>\n

Obviously, the last three elements are present in any contract for a major league ballplayer\u2019s services. Let\u2019s take a closer look at the first two. The Pirates made an offer to a free agent, namely, Schwarber. If he accepted, the parties would have a contract. They need to formalize it and reduce it to writing, but they have a contract. It defies logic to think the cheapest owner in sports would take that chance with $125 million. After all, even though it seemed all along that he would return to Philadelphia, nobody can be 100 percent certain that Schwarber would have rejected Pittsburgh\u2019s offer. It was for a higher average annual value than the one he accepted from the Phillies. As a left-handed hitter, he would have thrived aiming for PNC Park\u2019s short right field.<\/p>\n

As New York Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner once said when Joe Torre<\/a> rejected their offer to stay with the Yankees as their manager, \u201cYou don\u2019t make an offer bluffing. What if he says yes?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Last Word<\/p>\n

Does any of this mean that the Pirates will land any big-name free agents? Of course not. There\u2019s a lot of competition for a few hitters, including competition from teams that have never been players in the market before. But the Pirates are making serious offers. In about three months, we\u2019ll see whether that seriousness has paid off.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

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