The Pittsburgh Pirates were in the thick of the National League Wild Card race coming out of the All-Star break, but their 2024 season ended in disappointment and another October without baseball in the Steel City.
A second-half spiral saw the Pirates tumble to the bottom of the NL Central Division standings, with the team's focus likely shifting to 2025 earlier than they would care to admit. With the official start of the MLB offseason just a few weeks away, the 2025 campaign will come into focus as general manager Ben Cherington and the Pirates front office prepare for the trade and free-agent markets to open.
The Pirates aren't expected to be quite as active as some other teams in free agency this winter, but they do have several members of their 2024 roster who will be hitting the open market if they don't re-sign. The Pirates rank near the bottom of the league in team payroll, and that is unlikely to change anytime soon, so it's unlikely that they'll choose to retain many of their free agents. Still, some of these names will pose more difficult decisions than others.
Here are all of the Pirates players entering free agency after the 2024 season
Free agents who were signed to Major League contracts with the Pirates in 2024:
- RP Aroldis Chapman
- DH Andrew McCutchen
- C Yasmani Grandal
- RP Jalen Beeks
- RP Ryan Borucki
- IF Rowdy Tellez*
- OF Michael A. Taylor*
Free agents who were signed to minor league contracts with the Pirates in 2024:
- OF Edward Olivares
- OF Billy McKinney
- RP Ryder Ryan
- RP Jake Woodford
- RP Justin Bruihl
- RP Domingo Germán
*Rowdy Tellez and Michael A. Taylor were on the Pirates' roster for much of the 2024 season before being released by the club on Sept. 24, with six games remaining in the regular season. Tellez had supposedly expressed interest in returning to Pittsburgh next season, but it's difficult to imagine why after the way the club jobbed him out of a performance bonus this year.
Pirates players with contract options heading into 2024 offseason
- P Marco Gonzales ($15 million club option)
Marco Gonzales, a back-of-the-rotation arm, was already a long shot at best to return to the Pirates next year given the $15 million price tag on his club option for 2025. He has since undergone forearm surgery and is expected to be sidelined for a year, effectively ending his short stint in Pittsburgh.
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