5 recent Pirates players Pittsburgh fans wish they could have back for 2025

February is right around the corner, and soon enough, pitchers and catchers will head to Bradenton to report for the start of spring training. The Pirates are still a few players away from being realistically considered contenders in the NL Central, and GM Ben Cherington promised at last weekend's PiratesFest that the roster would see improvements between now and the start of camp.

There has been a stated commitment to winning from various levels of team management, but for that to come to fruition, the Pirates must add to their major league roster. There are multiple players who were in Pittsburgh not that long ago who would have been excellent fits for the 2025 Pirates, many of whom were there for the taking this winter.

While the door is still open to add to the team before spring, the Pirates would have been well-suited to reunite with—or to have never dumped in the first place—these players who were let go by the current regime:

5 recent Pittsburgh Pirates who'd work well on current roster

Starling Marte

The Pirates brought back Andrew McCutchen for a third consecutive season in hopes of rekindling some of the magic from the team's postseason runs of the mid-2010s. They may be wise to do so with one of his former outfield mates.

Marte was an underrated star during his eight-year tenure with the Pirates from 2012-2019. By WAR, he was the ninth-best outfielder across MLB over that time. He slashed .287/.341/.452, averaged 4.4 WAR during his six full seasons, made an All-Star team, and won a pair of Gold Gloves.

Trading Marte was Cherington's first big move after taking over as GM. That swap netted the Bucs Liover Peguero, who has seen some MLB action and may factor into the team's future plans at shortstop; Brennan Malone, a former first-rounder whose career appears to have stalled due to arm injuries; and international bonus pool space.

After brief stops in Arizona, Miami, and Oakland, Marte signed a four-year, $78 million contract with the Mets before the 2022 season. While his speed and defense have seen a sharp decline in recent years, he's still a more-than-capable hitter—he posted a modest 104 wRC+ in 2024, but underperformed considerably relative to his expected batting average (.287, 94th percentile) and slugging percentage (.425).

Marte is entering the final year of his Mets contract and is owed $20.75 million. The Mets have flirted with the idea of offloading that contract, and they would certainly need to eat a decent portion of that money to facilitate a deal with the Pirates. But the Bucs badly need another outfielder, and a player with Marte's talent, postseason experience, and familiarity with Pittsburgh would be a very welcome addition.