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The Pittsburgh Pirates officially clinched their seventh consecutive losing season on Wednesday, when they suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles in extra innings for their fifth straight loss and their 82nd of the year.
Even though it didn't become official until Wednesday, the Pirates' 2025 season had long been a lost cause, causing focus to shift forward to the 2026 campaign. As the front office begins to evaluate options for next season, here are some familiar faces from this year who they should not be tempted to re-sign.
3 upcoming Pirates free agents who have been good but don't need to be re-signed
Tommy Pham
Yes, a new contact prescription suddenly made him one of the Pirates' best hitters in the second half, but that doesn't change the fact that Tommy Pham is not – and never was – part of Pittsburgh's future.
Pham will be 38 years old by the time the 2026 season begins, so the only reason it would make sense for the Pirates to re-sign him would be if they expected to be legitimate postseason contenders next year (which they shouldn't). Pham himself isn't going to contribute to the Pirates' long-term success, and he might in fact block opportunities for young players in the pipeline like Billy Cook or Nick Yorke to get more Major League playing time.
Besides which, it's unlikely that Pham would pull an Andrew McCutchen and re-sign in Pittsburgh without getting a pay raise after this season – and the Pirates' distaste for spending money on talent has been well-documented by this point.
Ronny Simon
The Pirates claimed Ronny Simon off waivers from the Miami Marlins in June, and he got his call-up opportunity in August when Oneil Cruz went to the 7-day concussion IL. Simon can play second base, shortstop and both corner outfield spots, some of which may be open positions for the Pirates in 2026.
Unfortunately, Simon hasn't impressed enough in a small sample size at the big league level with the hit tool he's shown in the minors. Through 27 games between the Pirates and the Marlins this season, he's slashed just .234/.299/.273 – a far cry from the .297/.392/.452 line he posted through 69 games at Triple-A.
Re-signing Simon would make him a redundancy on the Pirates' roster when they already have plenty of pre-arb players who can fill similar roles. Besides which, he will enter next season coming off surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder that he suffered as a result of a brutal base-running mishap at the end of August. The best case scenario would see Simon cleared for all baseball activities by early March, but it's hardly a guarantee.
Yohan Ramirez
To say that Yohan Ramirez has been "good" for the Pirates might be a bit of a stretch, but he's been... serviceable. Pittsburgh selected his contract from Triple-A Indianapolis in July, and he has since pitched to a 5.90 ERA over 29 innings with the MLB club.
Ramirez's career era of 4.77 – not to mention the fact that he bounced between four different MLB teams last season – should be enough of an indication that the Pirates don't need to bring him back in 2026. They could maybe re-sign him to a minor league deal, but they'd likely be better off cutting ties altogether.