2 free agent swingmen Pirates should target as starters instead of Caleb Ferguson

When the Pittsburgh Pirates signed Caleb Ferguson, fans thought the Pirates had added the much-needed lefty reliever the bullpen had been hurting for. But the Pirates shocked many, as they said they are considering stretching Ferguson out as a starter in spring training. Ferguson has not worked as a starter since his 2018 rookie year, with only a handful of games spent working as an opener since then.

With the Pirates' pitching depth, they do not absolutely need to sign another starter, but it would help the depth chart to have viable options. Plus, given how much even back-of-the-rotation arms are signing for these days, the Pirates could probably better allocate their resources elsewhere.

If the Pirates want a pitcher they can comfortably slot in the back of their rotation, who can also move to the bullpen when top prospects like Bubba Chandler or Thomas Harrington are ready, there are some pitchers out there on the free agent market they could go after who could fill that swingman role more smoothly than Ferguson.

The Pirates won't have to worry about stretching them out, and they could be reliable in both starter and long-relief roles in 2025.

2 swingmen Pirates should sign instead of converting Caleb Ferguson to rotation

Spencer Turnbull

Spencer Turnbull returned from three straight injury-riddled seasons from 2021 to 2023 with the Philadelphia Phillies in a big way. The Phils signed the right-hander to a low-cost, one-year contract. Although he missed the second half of the year, it was the most promising stretch of games Turnbull has pitched thus far in his career.

Turnbull pitched a total of 54.1 innings, working to a quality 2.65 ERA, 3.85 FIP, and 1.05 WHIP. Although Turnbull had a slightly below-league-average 9% walk rate, he struck out 26.1% of opponents with a respectable 0.99 HR/9 rate. He was also not prone to hard contact either, with a solid 87.8 MPH exit velocity and 7.2% barrel percentage induced.

The biggest negative is that Turnbull ran into some good luck with a .233 batting average on balls in play, despite a career .300 BABIP, but ERA estimators still pinned him as a solid pitcher. He had a 3.80 xFIP, along with a 3.67 SIERA and 4.02 xERA. Turnbull also had a career-best 112 Stuff+ mark.

Turnbull made seven starts in 2024, with 17 total appearances under his belt. Even in games he didn't start, he was mostly used as a multi-inning arm. Six of his 10 bullpen appearances lasted more than just one inning, and he pitched three innings on three different occasions. 

Jakob Junis

Right-hander Jakob Junis played with two division rivals last year. He originally signed a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers the previous offseason, and was traded to the Cincinnati Reds at the trade deadline. Junis missed most of April and May, but when he returned from injury, he pitched very well the rest of the way.

Junis pitched a total of 67 innings, working to a 2.69 ERA, 3.69 FIP, and 0.85 WHIP. He only struck out 20.2% of his opponents faced, but had a respectable 1.07 HR/9 rate and was great at limiting free passes. Junis only allowed 3.2% of his opponents to reach via walk. The right-hander also had a 90 MPH exit velocity and an 8.4% barrel percentage.

Junis' ERA estimators were almost identical to Turnbull's. He had a 3.67 SIERA and 3.87 xFIP, along with a 3.80 xERA. Junis benefited a lot from a .224 batting average on balls in play, compared to a .306 mark for his career. Considering there was very little change in his exit velocity or barrel rate for his career (89.4 MPH and 8%, respectively), he'll likely play closer to those numbers in 2025.

The biggest negative to Junis' season was his huge drop in stuff. Stuff+ pinned him at 112 in 2023, but that fell to 99 in 2024. Part of that may have been because he was used as a starter more frequently last year. Six of his 24 outings were starts, while only four of his 40 appearances the year prior were starts. Still, Junis has shown to be a solid pitcher in this swingman role now for three seasons.