North Shore Nine

The Pirates are linked to some free agents!

Robert Murray of Fansided is reporting that the Pirates are among several teams interested in signing CF Michael A. Taylor.

Among the other outfielders that the Mets expressed interest in included Michael A. Taylor, sources say, who is now being linked to teams in southern California. A reunion between Taylor and the Twins should not be ruled out, with other teams interested in the 32-year-old outfielder including the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres.

https://fansided.com/posts/mlb-insider-what-i-m-hearing-about-the-mets-brewers-angels-padres-yoshinobu-yamamoto-more-01hkbj4ghvj7

Taylor is a gold glove caliber center fielder with a power bat from the right side. He slugged 21 home runs last year in just 388 plate appearances for the AL Central champion Twins. Signing Taylor would allow Jack Suwinski to slide over to a more natural position and platoon with newly acquired Edward Olivares, which could make for a powerful RF combo.

On top of Murray’s report, Jon Heyman of the NY Post is reporting the Pirates are interested in a reunion with 1B Carlos Santana.

The Brewers, Pirates and Mariners — three of Carlos Santana’s former teams in the last couple years — are showing interest in Santana.

https://nypost.com/2024/01/04/sports/rangers-still-in-play-for-free-agents-jordan-montgomery-josh-hader/

Santana added some much needed stability to the 1B position that the Pirates had been lacking over recent years and would certainly be an upgrade to Rowdy Tellez, who he replaced on the depth chart when the Pirates sent him to Milwaukee last deadline for prospect Jhonny Severino.

Heyman also reports that the Pirates are still interested in a mid-tier starting pitcher, and mentions James Paxton as a possible name.

The Mets are linked to Hyun-Jin Ryu, Sean Manaea and Shota Imanaga. The Pirates, Red Sox, Padres and Nationals also are in the mid-tier starter market, which also includes James Paxton.

Paxton started 19 games last year for Boston and posted a 4.50 ERA and hasn’t pitched over 100 innings in a season since 2019. He just turned 35 and Fangraphs predicted a 1-year, $8 million contract this offseason for him.