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

Edwin Uceta

The Pittsburgh Pirates career of Edwin Uceta was so brief that he never appeared in a game at any level of the organization. Still, Pirates fans familiar with the right-hander probably wish he was a member of the club's bullpen in 2025.

Uceta was a Pirate for less than a week in April 2023. He was claimed off waivers and optioned to Triple-A, only to be designated for assignment again two days later when his 40-man roster spot was needed for catcher Tyler Heineman. He appeared in just one MLB game with the Mets in 2023 and ended that season with a career 5.80 ERA across 40.1 innings.

The reliever then signed a minor-league deal with the Rays and, like many pitchers before him, Tampa Bay turned him into a star. After joining their bullpen in May, Uceta pitched to a 1.51 ERA, 1.70 FIP, and 0.82 WHIP in 41.2 innings. His expected batting average (.184), barrel rate (3.2%), strikeout rate (35.8%), and walk rate (5.0%) were all elite marks.

Uceta's breakout, due largely to an improved fastball and one of MLB's best changeups, earned him the No. 6 spot on MLB Network's Top 10 Relief Pitchers Right Now list. Having another lockdown, high-leverage arm like that in the bullpen would go a long way toward making the Pirates a more formidable contender.

Aroldis Chapman

Last offseason, the Pirates did opt to add another proven arm to the back of the bullpen alongside David Bednar and Colin Holderman. After the front office's efforts to add an impact starting pitcher failed to come to fruition, the Pirates changed course and inked Chapman to a one-year deal worth $10.5 million.

Although his season got off to a pretty rocky start—through the end of May, Chapman had a 4.66 ERA and walked 23 batters in 19.1 innings—he got it together and wound up looking like the Aroldis Chapman of old down the stretch. From June on, his ERA dropped to 3.40, but with a minuscule 1.73 FIP, while posting a 37.0% strikeout rate and a much-improved 9.2% walk rate.

Formerly one of the most dominant closers in the history of the sport, Chapman was meant to serve as David Bednar's setup man, but after his brutal struggles, Chapman took over the ninth inning role and led the National League in saves in September. While the Pirates' season was all but over by then, Chapman proved to still be a valuable asset.

A reunion with Chapman would have made a ton of sense given the uncertainty surrounding Bednar and Holderman, as well as the general lack of left-handed pitchers on the roster, but he signed with the Red Sox in December for a $250,000 increase from his 2024 salary. Pittsburgh signed Caleb Ferguson to add another southpaw to the mix, but the bullpen is still sorely missing another leverage arm. That could have been Chapman.