Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Things That Need Done This Offseason

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been awful for 4 years straight. It is time to start working on improving the major league team this off-season. There are 3 things that need to happen this off-season to get this team competing again.

Extend Oneil Cruz To A Long-Term Deal

Oneil Cruz‘s 2022 season was a bit of a roller coaster. He started the season in AAA in which he struggled the majority of the time he was down there. He played in 55 games with Indianapolis and had a a slash line of .233/.336/.422 with 9 home runs. He struck out 22.7 % of the time and had a walk rate of 12.1%.

He was eventually called up to the major league team on June 20th. Cruz, like most rookies struggled his first few months in the league. He struck out at almost a 40% rate and was not seeing the ball well at all. He eventually started to get adjusted to the league and it showed towards the end of the year.

In the month of September, he had a slash line of .284/.348/.549. He finished the season tied 3rd most in home runs for NL rookies with 17. He dropped his strikeout percentage by almost 5% and started to consistently have productive at bats. He ended the season with a 106 wRC+ and was one of the best hitters in the league from August 28th to the end of the year.

Cruz is just 24 years if age and the Pirates should take a risk and offer him a long-term deal this off-season. If Oneil Cruz has a big year next season, his price is only going to go higher and higher. If the Pirates wait too long, they may lose him because he will cost too much once he hits free agency espeically if he hits his ceiling. They should offer him a 10 year 150 million deal. That would be fair for both sides and would also show the fans that they care.

Sign Joc Pederson To Play First Base

There are not a lot of free agent options for first base this offseason, so the Pittsburgh Pirates should sign Joc Pederson and have him transition to a full time first basemen for the 2023 season. He has some playing experience at that position and would immediately be one the top hitters in the lineup for this team.

Last season with the San Francisco Giants, Pederson slashed an impressive .274/.353/.521 with 23 home runs. Pederson finished the season with a 144 wRC+ and 2.1 WAR. He is just 30 years of age, so he could be a cornerstone to this team becoming competitive again if he signed a multi-year deal. Adding this kind of bat to a lineup that is in desperate need of offense would make a huge difference going into next season.

In 2022, the Pirates had one of the worst groups of first basemen in all of the baseball. This obviously needs addressed in the off-season and the Pirates need to think outside of the box. This would be a good decision on the front offices part if they make this kind of move. The best first base options at the moment in free agency are Jose Abreu and Anthony Rizzo, but they will come at a high price tag that the Pirates most likely will not be able to pay.

Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton love versatility, so signing Pederson to play first base with an option to have him play some outfield at times should be right up their ally.