3 free agents the Pittsburgh Pirates must avoid this offseason

The Pittsburgh Pirates should be open to adding nearly anyone this offseason. The roster has some clear holes that need to be patched, along with other areas that need reinforcements. They should be going after players who can make a real impact. Luckily, they have plenty of options to turn to, both on the free agent and trade markets.

But there are also a handful of players the Pirates should avoid at all costs. Whether that be because they’re in the twilight of their careers or have some worrying underlying numbers, the Pirates have plenty of better options they could pursue than this trio.

3 free agents Pirates must avoid this offseason

Paul Goldschmidt

Only two years ago, Paul Goldschmidt took home National League MVP honors, and he’ll likely make his way into Cooperstown in the future. But while Goldschmidt was once a phenomenal player, his last two seasons have seen his production steadily decrease, with 2024 being the worst season of his career by a mile.

Goldschmidt collected 654 plate appearances and batted .245/.302/.414 with a .310 wOBA and 100 wRC+. His 26.4% K rate and 7.2% walk rate were career-worst marks. Goldy still hit for some power with 22 homers and a .169 isolated slugging percentage, which was above average. However, his ISO was the worst of his career, and represents only the third time he's ever posted a sub-.200 mark.

While his underlying numbers were better, they were still a huge departure from previous seasons. Goldschmidt clocked in with a .333 xwOBA, .464 xSLG%, and .258 xBA. This also includes a 10.7% barrel rate. These numbers were above the 60th percentile of batters, but nearly all of them were career lows. His barrel rate and xBA were just the second worst he’s ever posted in a single season.

The Pirates should only consider Goldschmidt if he’s willing to play in a reduced role. He was still effective against left-handed pitching with a .838 OPS, .361 wOBA, and 134 wRC+ last season, but he floundered when facing a righty to the tune of a .675 OPS, .292 wOBA, and 88 wRC+. The Pirates need a first baseman, but Goldschmidt should not be the answer unless they also plan on bringing in someone who can mitigate his struggles against same-handed pitching and declining metrics.

Craig Kimbrel

The Pirates need relievers, but Craig Kimbrel shouldn’t be a player on their radar. Kimbrel may have been the most dominant closer in baseball at his peak, but that is far behind him, and with a huge drop in velocity, every team in baseball, not just the Pirates, should be extremely wary of bringing in the nine-time All-Star.

Kimbrel put up a poor 5.33 ERA, 4.18 FIP, and 1.36 WHIP across 52.1 innings for the Baltimore Orioles last season. Although he still struck out opponents at a healthy 31.5% rate, Kimbrel handed out free passes 13.4% of the time. The veteran closer was prone to home runs as well, with a 1.20 HR/9 and both an exit velocity (91.1 MPH) and barrel rate (10.6%) below the tenth percentile of pitchers across baseball this season. Kimbrel was so bad in the second half that the Orioles designated him for assignment in September.

Notably, Kimbrel had a dominant 2.10 ERA, 2.47 FIP, and 0.90 WHIP going into the All-Star break. He struck out nearly 40% of opponents (38.5%, to be exact) with a controllable 10.4% walk rate during that span. Kimbrel rarely allowed home runs either, with a HR/9 of 0.52. These numbers are obviously good, and if a bad second half was the only red flag, then it might be worth the Pirates’ time to consider bringing him in and ascribe his 10.59 post-ASB ERA to flukiness.

But there is another, much larger issue at play, and that’s Kimbrel’s huge decline in stuff. His four-seam velocity has been trending in the wrong direction the last handful of seasons, but it took a fall off a cliff this season. He went from averaging 95.8 MPH with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2023 (80th percentile) to 93.9 MPH this season (47th percentile). Stuff+ still had his four-seamer at an above-average 110 mark, but that’s a steep drop from 125 last year. His knuckle-curve also fell nearly two whole MPH, from 86.2 MPH to 84.3 MPH, between the last two years, sending his Stuff+ down from 126 to 117.

Craig Kimbrel has never been Greg Maddux when it came to pitch command, and now, with a severe decline in stuff, Kimbrel won’t solve any problems the Pirates may have with their bullpen depth. The only reason the Pirates should go after Kimbrel is if they can sign him to a minor-league deal with the hope he could jumpstart his pitch quality at Triple-A. Even then, the Pirates might be able to find better depth to stash away at Triple-A.