5 non-Kyle Schwarber free agents Pirates should pursue to meet their lofty goals

The Pittsburgh Pirates are seemingly being more aggressive than ever to start the 2025-2026 offseason. They reportedly offered nearly $80 million to first baseman Josh Naylor before he re-signed with the Seattle Mariners, and (shockingly) are going to pursue National League MVP finalist Kyle Schwarber.

Of course, as a Pirates fan, landing Schwarber would be a pipedream, and no one should be holding their breath that it happens. However, it seems like the Pirates are aiming higher than ever before, and they might be able to land at least one decent free agent this offseason, even if it’s not Schwarber. If they don’t land Schwarber, importing at least one of these free agents is nearly a must now, thanks to the sort of expectations they’re setting.

5 free agents Pirates should sign from top tier of the market

Eugenio Suarez

Eugenio Suarez is coming off one of his best seasons in the power department. The former long-time division rival batted .228/.298/.526 with a .347 wOBA and 125 wRC+ over 657 plate appearances with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners in 2025. His 7% walk rate is the lowest he’s put up since his 2015 sophomore campaign, and his 29.8% K% was well below average. On the plus side, Suarez hit 49 home runs with a .298 isolated slugging percentage.

Suarez did see a significant drop off in overall production at the dish when he went from the D-Backs to the M’s. He had a 141 wRC+ prior to the trade, then just a 91 wRC+ after the trade. For what it’s worth, Suarez went from the second-most hitter-friendly park in baseball for right-handed hitters in Chase Field, which was only behind Coors Field, to the least friendly park in baseball by a wide margin in T-Mobile Park, per Baseball Savant’s park factors. A more stable environment may do him some good, and PNC Park did not heavily favor pitchers over hitters or vice versa.

Suarez would likely slot in as a third base/designated hitter option in Pittsburgh. He had his worst season with the glove at the hot corner in 2025, with -6 defensive runs saved and -3 outs above average. It is just the second time he graded out negatively in both defensive stats in a single season. OAA typically sees Suarez as a solid defender, as he has a career +24 mark in that stat. DRS has an opposite opinion, placing Suarez at -24.

Suarez is one of the best power hitters on the market, and the Pirates have a need at third base. He’s guaranteed to hit at least 20-25 home runs, as the last time he hit fewer than that in a season where he played in at least 100 games was 2015. He is also a safe bet to stay healthy, as he’s played no fewer than 143 games in a season dating back to the start of 2016 (not including the 2020 campaign). 

Kazuma Okamoto

The last time a Yomiuri Giants position player was posted for MLB teams to negotiate with was Hideki Matsui. Kazuma Okamoto looks to follow in his footsteps. Okamoto only played about half of the most recent NPB season, but he was outstanding when healthy. In 269 plate appearances, Okamoto batted .327/.416/.598 with a .454 wOBA and a wRC+ of 210. Okamoto struck out only 11.3% of the time and had an identical walk rate. Known for his power, the corner infielder/outfielder slugged 15 bombs and had a .271 isolated slugging percentage.

Okamoto has long been one of NPB’s best hitters. FanGraphs tracks NPB stats to 2019, which was his second professional season. Since then, Okamoto has the seventh best OPS (.881), wOBA (.392), and wRC+ (148), along with the fifth best slugging percentage (.523), and the fourth best ISO (.250). The only NPB player with more home runs than Okamoto since 2019 is fellow slugger Munetaka Murakami, who is looking to land an MLB contract this offseason. However, Murakami did that with a 25.8% K%, while Okamoto only has a career 17.8% K%.

Okamoto is primarily a third baseman, but has ample experience between both outfield corners, along with first base. As stated earlier, the Pirates do need help at the hot corner, and that is where Okamoto played the most in 2025. However, they could also use help in an outfield corner or as a designated hitter. Given that Okamoto is a right-handed hitter, he could even occasionally spell Spencer Horwitz at first base when there is a left-hander on the mound.

Okamoto can fill many of the holes in the Pirates’ roster. He is much less risky than Munetaka Murakami, given his heightened ability to make contact. Plus, he can still provide a solid amount of power. The Pirates have also reportedly shown interest in pursuing Okamoto. If the Pirates are willing to shell out a non-insignificant amount of money this offseason, then having Okamoto on the radar is a must.

Jorge Polanco

Jorge Polanco struggled in his first season with the Seattle Mariners in 2024. However, after getting acclimated to his new environment after spending parts of 10 MLB seasons with the Minnesota Twins, Polanco turned into one of the M’s best hitters in 2025. The switch-hitter slashed .265/.326/.495 with a .350 wOBA and 135 wRC+ over 524 trips to the plate.

Polanco’s power was on full display; he went yard 26 times while posting a .229 isolated slugging percentage. He also only struck out 15.6% of the time. Polanco’s 8% walk rate came in around league average. His raw power was as good as ever, with a 90.8 MPH exit velocity, which was the best single-season mark of his career, and a 10.3% barrel rate, the second best of his career.

Most of Polanco’s playing time in 2025 came at designated hitter. He has plenty of experience at both middle infield positions and third base, but does not grade out particularly well at any of them. At shortstop, he has -44 DRS and -32 OAA over 4,178 innings, and hasn’t played the position at all since 2022. His -2 DRS in 3528.2 innings at the keystone may look a lot better, but he still has -28 OAA. Third base is the position he has the least playing time at, with 223 innings, piling up -1 DRS and -3 OAA in the relatively small sample size.

Polanco is much more of a positionless slugger than either Suarez or Okamoto. Since 2019, 2024 marks the only season in which he wasn’t at least 15% better than league average with the bat in his hand (not including the shortened 2020 campaign) by wRC+. If the Pirates aren’t 100% confident in handing Polanco the keys to third base or second base, they could utilize him at DH or use Jared Triolo as a late-game defensive replacement.

Bo Bichette

Bo Bichette re-emerged as a premier middle infielder with a strong 2025 rebound campaign in his final season with the Toronto Blue Jays. Bichette turned in a .311/.357/.483 line, .361 wOBA, and 134 wRC+ over 628 plate appearances. Bichette has never walked at a high rate, though his 6.4% walk rate is the second highest of his career outside of his brief rookie year in 2019. On top of that, he lowered his K% to a career-best 14.5%.

Bichette has always hit for good power, and 2025 was one of his better seasons. He went yard 18 times with a quality .172 isolated slugging percentage. There’s even potential for more, considering his exit velocity and barrel rate rebounded from a mediocre 89.2 MPH and 4.4% mark in 2024 to 91 MPH and a 7.9% rate in 2025. He also had a 9.7% barrel percentage from 2021 through 2023.

Bichette has never been a strong shortstop defender, but 2025 was his worst season by far. He had -12 DRS and -13 OAA at the position. Bichette has slowed down, and his arm strength isn’t what it once was. In 2021, he was in the 69th percentile for arm strength and the 75th percentile for sprint speed. In 2025, he was only in the 36th percentile for arm strength and the 21st percentile for sprint speed.

During the World Series, the Blue Jays started Bichette at second base during a few games while he rehabilitated from a September injury. Second or third base seems to be Bichette’s long-term home, wherever he ends up. However, the idea of a Konnor Griffin/Bo Bichette double play duo, or the left side of the infield occupied by Griffin and Bo, sounds electric, and is an idea that would help the Pirates win a lot more games. 

J.T. Realmuto

Veteran catcher J.T. Realmuto is coming off one of his worst seasons at the plate. He hit just .257/.315/.384 with a .307 wOBA and 94 wRC+ over 550 plate appearances. He only hit a dozen home runs, and his .127 ISO was a significant drop from the .196 mark he put up through his first six seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. Realmuto only walked 6.4% of the time, and his 23.5% strikeout percentage did not jump off the page either.

Still, there were plenty of numbers to suggest Realmuto has gas left in the tank. He still showed decent raw power, with a 90 MPH exit velocity and 8.8% barrel rate, which were similar to the 89.9 MPH exit velocity and 10.2% barrel rate he had through his first six seasons in Philly. His .422 xSLG% indicated he still could hit for some power as well.

Defensively, Realmuto is a mixed bag. He only had -2 DRS, but was great at catching runners trying to steal. He had a 29.7% caught stealing rate, was tied with Patrick Bailey and Pirates catcher Endy Rodriguez for the quickest poptime, and ranked 18th in arm strength among catchers. On the flip side, Realmuto had -4 blocks above average, and -7 framing runs.

Pirates catchers definitely have their flaws, some of which Realmuto could solve. Joey Bart may have gotten off to a poor start to 2025, but he heated up in the second half and did well in 2024. However, his defense behind the plate is poor, to say the least. Henry Davis’ defense has gotten dramatically better over the last two seasons. Unfortunately, his bat hasn’t progressed the same way. Even if Realmuto is average, both offensively and defensively, he’d help bring some much-needed stability to the catcher spot for the Pirates.