2 upcoming free agents the Pirates must re-sign for the 2026 season

Here’s the good news about the Pittsburgh Pirates this winter: the shopping list is relatively short. No 40-name triage board. They actually have the luxury of being picky with pending free agents. That’s a gift…kind of, so long as you use it to make smart, surgical decisions instead of grabbing every familiar name off the shelf just because you recognize the label.

And on that note, let’s say the quiet part loudly: for many reasons, Tommy Pham shouldn’t be on the return menu. He’s a short-term corner-outfield/DH patch who soaks up at-bats the club should be handing to younger, controllable pieces. The fit is clunky with the timeline, the defense doesn’t move the needle, and the marginal bump you might get in October-ish vibes isn’t worth the developmental tax you’d pay all summer. This team needs clarity, not another revolving door.

Now, two moves do make sense, and they’re very different kinds of bets.

Pirates offseason math says re-sign these two and skip the rest

Andrew McCutchen, OF

Yes, it’s a no-brainer, and not because the 38-year-old is sneaking back into his MVP bag. The slash line (.239/.333/.367) tells you exactly what he is at this stage: a selective, playable OBP, modest pop, and a bat best deployed as a DH/platoon option. But the reason you bring Cutch back for age-39 is everything else.

He’s still one of the few players in the sport who moves turnstiles, who sets standards in a room, who can talk a 23-year-old through a slump at 3:15 and then draw a walk at 7:08 because he refuses to chase. The Pirates are getting younger; leadership isn’t optional when you’re stacking innings and expectations on kids.

If he wants it, and he’s earned the right to decide, give him a discounted one-year deal with reachable incentives, keep him in a clearly defined DH/bench-bat role, and let him be the connective tissue between the franchise’s past and the group trying to own its future. He doesn’t need to be 2013 Cutch; he just needs to be Pittsburgh’s adult in the room who can still grind quality plate appearances and model what “professional” looks like, night

Nick Solak, UTIL

We know, we know: recommending a 30-year-old “Quad-A” guy is how you get quote-tweeted. But peel back the snark and look at the problem you’re trying to solve. Second base was a mess in 2025 — 20th in WAR (1.3) and a brutal -16.5 Off at the position. That’s not a slump; that’s a hole. Solak didn’t exactly light the majors on fire in a tiny 11-PA cameo (one hit, two Ks), but Triple-A Indianapolis is where this gets interesting: 111 games of .332/.411/.492 with 14 homers and 73 RBI is not just “warm body” production. It’s sustained contact, zone control, and gap juice over a full sample.

One caveat to flag: this calculus could change quickly if top prospect Termarr Johnson is installed at his natural spot at second base, as most evaluators believe that’s his long-term home. But until the Pirates truly settle shortstop for the long haul, it’s safer to play it conservative and keep Solak available as affordable insurance.

His career line tells you the truth — .250/.325/.369 in 259 MLB games is replacement-adjacent, but the minor-league track record (.295/.385/.458 across nine seasons) says there’s a real bench-to-average starter outcome if he wins a competition. The glove? Not a selling point, and that’s the risk. Still, if your keystone is hemorrhaging offense, you can justify a low-risk flyer on a right-handed bat who can also moonlight in left field and give you lineup optionality. Structure it as a modest one-year deal (or even an MLB-minimum pact) with a real spring runway and a short leash. If he hits, he buys you time; if he doesn’t, the path back to Indy is straightforward.

The bigger picture is simple: keep the focus tight, keep the dollars smart, and keep the at-bats pointed toward 2026 (and beyond). Bringing back McCutchen at a discount preserves your standards and your fans’ heartbeat without pretending he’s your three-hole guy.

Giving Solak a genuine shot at the keystone acknowledges reality — Pittsburgh needs more contact and base-to-base offense somewhere, and the cost is minimal. Skip the Pham detour, resist the urge to collect names, and make two safe moves that actually fit who the Pirates are trying to be while scouring the free agent list. That’s how a short to-do list becomes a better baseball team.