3 bargain free agents who might be the best Pirates fans can hope for this winter

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ offseason additions were underwhelming last winter, to say the least. In a season where they’ve struggled to put together a lineup that can back a solid pitching staff, they’ve fallen just short on many occasions because of their lackluster hitting, a tone that was set by a bargain-basement offseason. The Bucs didn’t do very much to add impact bats when they had the chance to.

While it’s totally reasonable to hope for reinvestment ahead of next season, fans are skeptical about the Pirates’ use of the funds they saved from deadline deals. Quite frankly, the front office cannot sit on the sidelines and do next to nothing once again. They need to add a few bats and at least one bullpen arm this upcoming winter. The 2025 season may not be over yet, but Pirates fans should already be demanding the team sign these players, who all fall within even the most conservative budget projections.

(Note that we’re only looking at free agents, not trade candidates. Also, Andrew McCutchen’s one-year/$5 million deal is akin to a guarantee, so he won’t be included on this list.)

3 budget free agents that even Bob Nutting can afford to add to Pirates

Tommy Pham

If you told Pirates fans back at the start of June that Tommy Pham would actually go on to win many of them over, they would think you were crazy. But fast forward to September, and there’s a real chance that Pham could be in line for another contract with the Pirates for 2026. He has definitely earned it after the sort of season he has had.

Since June 22, when Pham changed his contacts to adjust for a degenerative eye disease, the veteran outfielder is hitting .314/.379/.515 with a .380 wOBA and 144 wRC+. He is both hitting for power and displaying good plate discipline. Pham has gone yard eight times with a .201 isolated slugging percentage over his last 219 trips to the dish, and has walked in 9.6% of his plate appearances. Plus, he is striking out at a solid 17.8% rate.

This isn’t pure luck, either. Pham is making excellent contact, with a 93.5 MPH exit velocity and a 10.8% barrel rate. For reference, Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has a 91.1 MPH exit velocity and an 11.1% barrel rate since June 22. Pham’s xwOBA since his change in eye prescription is .389, which is nearly an identical reflection of his .380 wOBA.

The one thing that has remained steady throughout the entire season is Pham’s defense. He has spent nearly his whole campaign in left field, where he has +7 defensive runs saved and zero outs above average. He is also in the 67th percentile of arm strength. Pham comes in around average in terms of both his jump and route running.

The only fly in the ointment is that Pham will be 38 next season. He is definitely not young. But the Pirates don’t have much in the farm system to replace him, and the corner outfield market is thin, unless the Bucs make an impact trade. A Pham/Billy Cook timeshare could be extremely valuable to the Pirates next season. His offense, combined with Cook’s defense, would be a massive improvement over Pham and the occasional start from Alexander Canario. Pham seems to enjoy his time here, so a similar one-year/$4-5 million contract should be enough to re-sign him.

Kazuma Okamoto

The Pirates have no excuse not to add at least one semi-marquee free agent this offseason. One that could be making his way over from Japan is slugger Kazuma Okamoto. Okamoto has been one of NPB’s best sluggers for a while now. His 2025 season has been hindered by injury, but when he does take the field the field, he is out-hitting pretty much everyone else in the league.

Okamoto has 218 plate appearances on the year, and is slashing .309/.385/.565 with a .427 wOBA and 193 wRC+. He already has 11 home runs on the season, with an isolated slugging percentage of .257. Okamoto has rarely struck out, with an 11.9% K% to go with a 10.1% walk rate. Keep in mind he is doing all of this in a league that is going through their own Deadball Era, and where the current league average OPS is just .645. 

FanGraphs tracks Japan stats back to 2019 (Okamoto debuted in 2018). Since then, he has ranked in the top 10 in OPS (.875), wOBA (.389), wRC+ (148), and isolated slugging percentage (.249). 2025 isn’t a fluke, either. Between 2023 and 2024, Okamoto slashed .279/.368/.541 with a 170 wRC+, and was one of only three qualified hitters to have an OPS of at least .900 in this stretch.

Okamoto has seen playing time at many different positions, including third base, first base, and the outfield corners. If the Pirates signed Okamoto, he would likely slot in at the hot corner, and that is exactly what the Pirates need. They have a vacancy for a corner infield slugger in Okamoto's mold (and with Okamoto's maturity). 2026 will be Okamoto’s age-30 season, so he isn’t young, but the Pirates need power hitting right away. A two or three-year contract worth $18-25 million in total (depending on the years) might be enough to convince the slugger to sign.

Justin Wilson

As of right now, the Pirates have a single left-handed pitcher on their 40-man roster in Evan Sisk. The Pirates likely aren’t going to shell out a ton to build on an already solid bullpen, but they could really use at least one lefty reliever this offseason. In that case, they should reunite with former friend Justin Wilson to help bolster the bullpen.

Wilson spent parts of the 2012-2014 seasons with the Bucs and was a key member of their 2013 pen. He put up a 2.99 ERA and 125 ERA+ in black and gold before he was traded in the 2014-2015 offseason to the New York Yankees for catcher Francisco Cervelli. Since then, he has appeared in games for the Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, and this season for the Boston Red Sox.

Wilson is having one of his better seasons in 2025. In 43 innings, Wilson owns a 2.51 ERA, 2.68 FIP, and 1.33 WHIP. His 27.9% strikeout percentage is the highest he has put up since 2018 with the Cubs. He is also getting plenty of whiffs, with a 31.7% whiff rate. Wilson’s 8.9% walk rate is slightly below average, but he makes up for it by inducing plenty of weak contact. He has held opposing hitters to an 88.8 MPH exit velocity and an elite 5.4% barrel rate, leading to a 0.42 HR/9 ratio.

Wilson has been around the block and will be turning 38 next season, but his age hasn’t come close to slowing him down. The left-handed reliever still has a quality 105 FanGraphs’ Stuff+ mark, indicating above-average raw stuff. The Pirates could likely re-acquire Wilson on a contract similar to what Caleb Ferguson signed for last offseason: a one-year pact worth about $3 million.