3 position players with rebound potential the Pirates should pursue

The Pittsburgh Pirates have made one big splash this offseason, but there’s still work to be done. Right field remains a massive need for the Pirates’ lineup, and they could definitely use some help at shortstop.

A handful of position player free agents on the market are looking to rebound from unimpressive 2024 seasons. We already looked at some relievers who could rebound in 2025, so now it's time to look at some position players the Pirates could add on a decent deal, each armed with the potential to put up solid numbers in 2025.

3 bounce back candidates Pirates could sign to boost offense

J.D. Martinez

J.D. Martinez has already had one impressive rebound in his career. He had a great year with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023, which he parlayed into a contract with the New York Mets to serve as their designated hitter. Unfortunately, Martinez fell short of expectations with his new team during the 2024 season.

Martinez turned in a .235/.320/.406 triple-slash with a .318 wOBA and 106 wRC+. He still hit for some power, notching 16 home runs in 495 plate appearances and a .171 isolated slugging percentage. Plus, he walked at a high 9.9% rate. Still, it can't be denied that he struck out 28.5% of the time and, overall, it was an unimpressive season for the former Silver Slugger.

But Martinez had a lot of promising underlying numbers below the surface struggles. His 91 MPH exit velocity was still in the 78th percentile of all batters in 2024. He also had an elite 14.9% barrel rate, which ranked in the 94th percentile. Both sat around his career averages of 91.4 MPH and 14.8%, respectively. Martinez also put up some decent expected numbers. He was above the 85th percentile in both xwOBA (.351) and xSLG% (.472).

Now, obviously, the Pirates would be taking a gamble, given that Martinez is a DH-only, and he would need to hit in order to provide any value. On top of that, he is already 37. However, the Pirates should still consider Martinez a potential free agent at DH to pair with Andrew McCutchen, who is all but guaranteed to re-sign with the Pirates for a third season in a row.