3 recently non-tendered pitchers the Pirates should go after

Hoby Milner

The Pirates need lefty relievers, and one really good one may have just hit the open market. Hoby Milner headed into the 2024 campaign after a tremendous breakout season the year prior. He had a 1.82 ERA, 3.13 FIP, and 0.96 WHIP in 2023. The side-armer struck out 23.4% of the batters he faced with a microscopic 5.2% free pass rate. He held opponents to just an 86.6 MPH exit velocity and 6.2% barrel percentage, which helped him put up an 0.70 HR/9 rate.

Milner's ERA shot up to 4.73 throughout 64.2 innings during 2024, but surprisingly, that's about where the differences end between his 2023 and 2024 season. Nearly all of his peripherals and underlying metrics either stayed relatively the same from 2023 or improved. His ERA appears very deceptive once you look under the hood.

Milner had a 23.9% K% and a 5.2% walk rate. He continued to be elite at limiting hard contact, and his 2.7% barrel rate was in the 99th percentile, paired nicely with a HR/9 rate of 0.84. Milner posted a better xFIP (3.15) and better SIERA (3.08) than last year, when he had a 3.66 xFIP and 3.43 SIERA. 

Milner is a soft-tosser, but saw a huge uptick in his overall stuff in 2024. Stuff+ only put Milner's ability at a 74 in 2023. But this past season? That number dramatically rose to 104. With all that being said, it's a surprise the Brewers let Milner go. He is only projected to earn $2.7 million in arbitration, and nothing beyond his ERA suggests he's in store for another mediocre season.