MLB insider claims Pirates will surprise fans with impact free agent signing (with a catch)

If you're familiar with Ben Cherington's work, you know it's best to temper expectations around the Pittsburgh Pirates in free agency. The club has one of the smallest payrolls in baseball, and there's no reason to believe that will change in 2025.

In a recent mailbag for The Athletic (subscription required), former MLB general manager Jim Bowden addressed the question of small-market teams who have a tendency to pinch their pennies and whether any of them might actually spend in free agency this offseason.

Bowden began his response with a prediction that the Washington Nationals might try to start spending this offseason, but let's face it; this question might as well have been aimed directly at the Pirates. Bowden clearly saw it as such and proceeded to dropped this little nugget:

"I also believe the Pirates might surprise us by landing a solid free-agent bat."

Now, there's room for interpretation here. It's very possible that the Pirates would consider a "solid free-agent bat" to be a guy like Rowdy Tellez or Yasmani Grandal. Either way, this prediction sparks some speculation – and, dare we say, some hope – that Bob Nutting might actually open his wallet this winter and give Cherington a longer leash to go out and make a legitimate splash on the free agent market.

Bowden claims Pirates will surprise fans with impact free agent signing ... but there's a catch

Just when it seemed possible that the Pirates might actually surprise us in a good way this offseason, Bowden threw some water on that fire.

In response to another question about whether any of the National League Central teams would make any "significant" signings – specifically, players who make $20 million or more annually – Bowden gave a quick and concise "no."

Pirates fans already knew they weren't getting Juan Soto this offseason. Based on Bowden's predictions, they won't be getting the likes of Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman or Teoscar Hernández, either. All in all, this isn't all that surprising. But it does bring us back to the ambiguity in the term "solid free-agent bat" in his earlier response.

Could it mean Tyler O'Neill? Joc Pederson? Jurickson Profar? Harrison Bader? There are plenty of relatively affordable options who could provide an upgrade to Pittsburgh's lineup. Now, we just have to hope that Cherington actually signs one of them – and that they deliver.

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