Pittsburgh Pirates: Grading Each 2020 Free Agent Signing

John Ryan Murphy 

Murphy was signed along with Maile in order to bolster the Pirates’ catching core. With the loss of both Diaz and Francisco Cervelli, the team really only had Jacob Stallings to rely on behind the plate. Both Murphy and Maile were brought on as well to help improve the Pirates’ defense after a season in which Diaz proved to be the worst defensive catcher in baseball.

Murphy does his job adequately, though his bat has never been strong since the early promises of his career. His average might never rise above .200, but for now he is as serviceable behind the plate as the Pirates could hope for. He was also signed as a minor league free agent, so he doesn’t carry much weight in the salary book.

I didn’t expect a Russel Martin, and be honest, neither did you. Give it a C rating.

Phillip Evans

Man… there has been plenty of disappointment this season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but this one takes the cake. I wrote about Phillip Evans late last year (what feels like a decade ago) and was not surprised when he came out guns blazing in his first 45 plate appearances.

Evans played stellar in his 11 games, batting .359 with a .932 OPS and 155 OPS+ along with average-ish defense across the diamond and in the outfield. Needless to say, Evans probably wouldn’t have sustained such a line over the course of a full season (or 60 games). Still, it is a true shame that we’ll never find out.

Here’s to 2021. Give this a B rating.