3 Pirates in danger of being non-tendered after the 2025 season

The non-tender deadline after the 2025 season looms large for a rebuilding, budget-sensitive club like the Pittsburgh Pirates.

While the exact date for this year's deadline has not yet been announced, it is typically in November, before Thanksgiving. If a team chooses not to offer a contract to an arbitration-eligible player by said date, the player is "non-tendered" and becomes a free agent, eligible to sign with any team he chooses.

The Pirates have a handful of players they may decide aren’t worth the raise this offseason, especially given their inconsistent production. Here are a few of those players who might be at risk.

3 Pirates in danger of being non-tendered after the 2025 season

Joey Bart

Joey Bart has shown flashes of power at the plate, but his bat has remained well below league average for a catcher. Defensively, he's serviceable but not elite – and the Pirates will need a more convincing argument to retain him in an already-crowded field of catchers that also now includes Rafael Flores.

That said, none of the options that the Pirates have at catcher – Bart, Flores, Henry Davis or Endy Rodríguez – stands head and shoulders above the others as the clear-cut "best." But arbitration will push Bart's salary into the multimillion rage, which is steep for a backup or even third-string catcher profile.

With Flores, Davis and Rodríguez all still in pre-arb status, the Pirates may decide that Bart isn't worth the roster spot or cost when they could just as easily find a glove-first veteran on a minor-league deal.

Colin Holderman

Once a high-leverage bullpen option, Colin Holderman has become wildly inconsistent during his time with the Pirates.

Holderman's flashes of dominance have been offset by control issues, injuries and home run problems. He struggled to lock down late-inning roles in 2025, especially after David Bednar was traded (i.e., when the Pirates needed him to step up the most).

Pittsburgh historically doesn't pay extra for middle relievers, and with a wave of young bullpen arms pushing their way upward, Holderman is expendable.

Jack Suwinski

Jack Suwinski has raw power, but crippling contact issues that could prove to be his undoing as he enters his first year of arbitration eligibility.

Suwinski's strikeout rates have consistently been among the highest in MLB. By 2025, he still hasn’t shown he can adjust to big league pitching, settling into a platoon-only profile who punishes righties but is unplayable against lefties.

Arbitration will bump Suwinski's pay despite the fact that he is, functionally, a part-time player. The Pirates may prefer to give those at-bats to cheaper, younger outfielders with more upside rather than sink money into a severely limited role.