North Shore Nine

The Pittsburgh Pirates are in the process of getting ready for the offseason. They have begun to call up some players to see what they have in them, Billy Cook, and are likely monitoring what staff to keep or jettison. Both Derek Shelton and Ben Cherington have been given votes of confidence in the past few weeks. Cherington’s came for a number of media sources and Shelton’s came from Cherington himself. That being said it is also possible one or both of them get shown the door when the season’s last pitch has been thrown. It does appear however most likely that it might end up being a coach shake up. Andy Haines is one that most fans want to see gone. The Pirates rank 26th in Homeruns, Slugging, OBP and OPS, 18th in RBI, 20th in Runs, 22nd in hits and rank 5th in strikeouts. All of this might finally cost Haines his job, but who knows the Pirates can be slow in making changes, even when necessary. However, the real issue is the production from the players on the team, so who could the Pirates target this offseason to get this team back in the playoffs.

Let us look at each position as a way to best determine where financial resources need to be spent.

Outfielders:
Bryan Reynolds
Oneil Cruz
Bryan De La Cruz
Jack Suwinski
Billy Cook
Joshua Palacios
Ji Hwan Bae

The Pirates currently sit at 7 options for their three outfield positions. Cruz, at the moment, appears likely to start the season in centerfield. Until a Pirate manager says Reynolds is not an outfielder, he will slot into one of the corner spots. De La Cruz seems like a guy to have the other spot locked down, even after a very poor start to his Pirate career. Which brings us to the handful of other internal options. Suwinski was unable to build on prior success this season and was even worse back in AAA. He will likely be given one more shot to make an impact, but sadly could be on his way down and out. Billy Cook has made some good impression with his defense since being called up to the show. However, through twenty at bats he has only managed three hits while striking out in 35% of his at bats. That all being said his WAR in those games is 1.8 higher than Suwinski managed in 247 at bats (.1 compared to -1.7). Joshua Palacios can be a sparkplug for the team when he is healthy and playing regularly. While it would be great to see what he could do with regular MLB playing time, it is not something a team with legitimate playoff aspirations can do. Ji Hwan Bae has been given every opportunity to prove he can be of use to the organization and has failed to impress each time. If he sees time again in a Pirate uniform than a lot of fans and bloggers would be very surprised. As far as external help the options are a bit limited this offseason, as Juan Soto sadly is not an option for the Pirates these others, for the most part, should be more realistic.

Max Kepler
Kepler will be 32 to start next season he is a left-handed right fielder who is coming off a six year 41-million-dollar contract with the Minnesota Twins. In his 10-year career he has a 162-game average of .237/.318/.429 with a .746 OPS averaging over 30 doubles and 20 homeruns a season. However, over the last four seasons he is hitting just over 20 doubles a season and roughly 13 homeruns a year. Though his triple slash and OPS has remained close to his career average. He also has spent the month of September on the IL due to a knee issue. It is unclear if he will stay in Minnesota or if he will look elsewhere for the next stage of his career. If he leaves, he could be an option for the Pirates for a corner outfield position. He has been a very good defender in RF and has spent a fair amount of time in CF as well. With his power dipping slightly, he will likely not get close to the 10 million a season he earned this year. He might not be the solution the Pirates need for the outfield, however at a Michael A. Taylor prices, or even a bit more, then he might be worth it for a team looking to finally return to the playoffs.

Anthony Santander
This should be the Pirates top offseason target. Santander is a 30-year-old right fielder finishing his 8th year in the league. He will probably be the 2nd most in demand Outfielder after Soto this offseason, which should not scare off the Pirates. As of mid-August, Santander had stated he had not had contract extension talks with the Baltimore Orioles. It is very likely the Orioles would want to keep him with the core they have, however, with Colton Cowser, Cedric Mullins, Heston Kjerstad, Ryan O’Hearn and Eloy Jimenez it is possible they look to spend that money elsewhere. The other piece is Santander is coming off a career season and will likely be looking to get his one big MLB contract. He is currently hitting .239/.309/.510 with a .819 OPS and has smacked 41 home runs. To try to find a comparison you would have to look at guys like George Springer or Teoscar Hernandez. Springer had a similar year before his 6-year 150-million-dollar contract. Hernandez while not quite the same statistics had a very good season and was given a 23.5 million dollar contract this past offseason. Both were a year or so older than Santander, but both are reasonable comparisons. This all points to if the Pirates were to make a run at Santander it would have to be for an average of 20-25 million a season for multiple years, with potential opt outs. The Pirates have in the range of 50-60 million allocated for next season, so a 20-million-dollar player would still leave them plenty of room to add other pieces and push for that elusive playoff spot.

Jason Heyward
From what the Pirates should do, to what they are more likely to do. Heyward is finishing up with 15th year in MLB and is on pace to play at least another one or two before he hangs up his cleats. Offensively over the last few years, minus 2023, he has not been nearly the same player he had been in the past. However, he remains a very good defender at multiple outfield positions. It seems unlikely the Pirates would bring back Andrew McCutchen and sign Heyward, even if both might be of similar cost points. Nevertheless, a lower key signing of Heyward to complete with the likes of Suwinski, De La Cruz and Cook seems like a very Pirate move. If Heyward would manage the career bump back that Cutch has had in Pittsburgh, it could be a beneficial move for the Pirates, but that would be a very big if.

Harrison Bader
Bader is a right-handed centerfielder who is finishing his 8th season in the league. Bader is coming off a one year $10.5 million dollar contract with the New York Mets. He has also spent a season with the New York Yankees but spent the rest in the NLC with the St. Louis Cardinals, with a few games in Cincinnati with the Reds. Bader comes with some offensive production, though is maybe better known for his glove in centerfield. Before the Cruz transition there was fan speculation that Bader could be a good fit for the Pirates. He still could be, though it would likely be at a corner spot instead of in center. This year with the Mets he has had a better offensive season than over the past three seasons. It is unknown what this might do for his potential pay day this offseason. Likely he will not get a long-term contract wherever he goes, probably looking at a one- or two-year deal. If that ends up being around what the Mets paid him this year the Pirates would be better to spend money elsewhere. However, if it is in the more 5-8 per year range then it could be a solid pick up for the Pirates as they try to find the answer for their corner outfield spots.

Michael Conforto
Conforto is a 31-year-old outfielder who hits left-handed and is finishing his 9th season in the league. He spent the first 7 with the New York Mets before signing a two-year $36 million dollar contract two offseason ago. Over his career he has played all three outfield positions with the majority of the time being split between left and right fields. His best year was in 2019, with a solid follow up performance in 2020 before a downturn in 2021. He sat out 2022 with an injury before joining his current team the San Fransisco Giants. He has put up two solid seasons by the bay, though he has been unable to regain the offensive output he had previously shows. However, this is sadly part of what makes him a potential target for the Pirates. He will likely not get anywhere near his current yearly salary and could be looking for a shorter-term deal to rebuild some value before getting one last bigger contract. While the Pirates should literally and figuratively swing for the fences in their potential Outfield search, Conforto could be a solid option. He is a good fielder and is a consistent bat who should come at a cheap contract. This would leave room in the budget to spend elsewhere, while still adding a solid piece for the outfield.

Tyler O’Neill
O’Neill is a 29-year-old left fielder who spent six years in St. Louis before this season being spent in Boston. This year he managed to nearly match his career year of 2021. So far on the season he is hitting .251/.344/.536 with a .880 OPS with 18 doubles and 31 homeruns. To add to that the former x2 gold glove winner has continued to play good defense in the corner outfield positions. While he has been phenomenal for the Red Sox this season, they have a very packed outfield and may elect to let him get his bag elsewhere. Pittsburgh could be a good fit, if they are willing to pay. Some of the projection sites suggest that O’Neill could see a contract of 5 years and $90 million in his near future. While that would make him the highest paid Pirate it might be worth considering. The big issue with him however is the injury history. It is no coincidence that his two best seasons are the ones in which he was able to play more than 100 games. But if his medicals are squared away, and if the Pirates can add some contractual protection, then this is the type of player that could fit very well in a relatively young and potentially talented Pirates team.

Alex Verdugo
Verdugo is a lefty who can play all three outfield positions, and who at 28 years old is finishing his 8th season in the show. He has spent time with the Dodger, Red Sox and most recently the Yankees. While this has been arguably his worst offensive season to date some of the underlying factors might make some worry a bit less. His SO% has remained at his career average and much lower than the average across the Majors. Furthermore, his BB% was better this year that the last three and almost at the average for MLB players. A lot of offensive problems could be he increased how often he goes opposite field this year, sitting 4% higher than the last two years and over 3% over his career average. His defense has remained consistent if not better than his career norm in leftfield. He is not the best option on this list, however his talent on both ends of the plate with his potential expected cost for next season makes him an ideal target for a cheap owner like Bob Nutting.

Jesse Winker
Winker is a 31-year-old lefty who also plays left field, he is currently finishing his 8th year in the Majors. He was also a player talked about a lot moving toward the deadline as a potential option for the Pirates. However, he ended up being traded to the Mets after a partial season in Washington, with previous stops in Milwaukee, Seattle and 5 years in Cincinnati. His best seasons were in Cincy, he has struggled to stay with any team long since and has not been able to put up solid number until this year. He has been primarily used as a leftfielder, where he has played solidly defensively. He has also played a little over a hundred games in RF, with slightly more success. Once again much like Heyward, not the ideal candidate for the Pirates if they seriously want to win. However, if they are looking for a solid OF from outside of the organization, based on his talent and expected contract he will be an option for the Pirates.

If the Pirates are serious about winning. If they are indulged to move Reynolds to 1B this offseason. Biggest IF, they are willing to spend money, there are a few OF that could benefit them immensely. O’Neill or Santander would need to be those targets. While it can be dangerous for small market teams to give out big contracts to free agents coming off of career type seasons, who cares. The Pirates have shown they can dump contracts when they want to, Fransisco Liriano, and they need to finally get over the hump and spend up to their market size. They have the money, they have the need, now is time to let those two things come together like a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. The excitement a commitment to either player would cause in the fan base, when added to Skenes fever, Jonesing for Jones and the desire to go shrimping with Bubba, would go a long way, in ticket sales, to help recoup the money spent on either player.