Pirates 'aggressively' pursuing shocking free agent with Eugenio Suárez money

Everyone expected the Pittsburgh Pirates to pivot after they lost out on Eugenio Suárez in free agency. Hardly anyone expected them to pivot to this.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Pirates are now targeting the biggest name remaining on the free-agent market in left-hander Framber Valdez and have emerged as "one of the most aggressive clubs" in their pursuit.

The Pirates' rotation does currently lack a southpaw, but this pivot is curious considering all of Pittsburgh's previous reported attempts to woo big-name free agents have been focused on improving their offense. However, after swinging and missing (pun very much intended) on the likes of Suárez and Kyle Schwarber, it appears they have refocused their efforts toward improving the part of their roster that is already their greatest strength.

If they were to land Valdez, who rejected a qualifying offer from the Houston Astros earlier in the offseason, the Pirates would have to sacrifice the 44th overall pick in the upcoming MLB Draft.

Pirates' reported pursuit of Framber Valdez feels like face-saving measure

For Pirates fans, there's a familiar feeling creeping in here — and it isn’t optimism. It’s whiplash.

For months, the Pirates have telegraphed one thing above all else: this offense isn’t good enough. Every meaningful swing they’ve taken this winter has pointed in that direction. Big bats. Middle-of-the-order thump. Anyone who could make the league’s worst offense even vaguely resemble a functional one.

And then, suddenly — Framber Valdez?

He's the biggest remaining name on the free-agent board. A frontline lefty. A qualifying-offer guy. A pitcher whose addition would fortify the Pirates’ strongest area rather than fix their most glaring weakness.

That’s the part that makes this feel so unexpected — and frankly, so telling.

All winter, Pittsburgh’s ambition has been framed through hitters. Suárez. Marcell Ozuna. Each pursuit came with the same promise: we know what this roster needs. Each miss came with the same aftertaste: we weren’t quite willing — or able — to finish the job.

So when the Pirates suddenly emerge as one of the most aggressive teams on Valdez, it lands with a thud rather than a cheer. Not because Valdez isn’t good — he is — but because the pivot itself feels less like strategy and more like timing.

This isn’t the first swing of the offseason. It’s the last one. And that’s what makes it feel like a face-saving move.

Valdez is the kind of name you chase when your offense is still unfinished and Opening Day is looming. When you need something that looks big, sounds serious, and can be sold as ambition even if it doesn’t address the original problem.

Yes, the logic can be defended. Pairing Valdez with Paul Skenes at the top of the rotation would be intoxicating. It would give Pittsburgh a legitimate argument that it can shorten games and survive nights when the bats disappear — which, historically, has been often. First-year pitching coach Bill Murphy’s long history with Valdez in Houston only adds to the intrigue.

At the end of the day, this move doesn’t solve the offense. It insulates the organization from it.

It’s hard to ignore the context, too. Other suitors for Valdez — the Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, maybe even the Toronto Blue Jays — all have clearer competitive paths right now. The Pirates know that. They also know how this story usually ends: Pittsburgh in the rumor mill, someone else at the podium.

If the Pirates land Valdez, they’ll celebrate a coup — and rightly so. But if they don’t, this will read like another offseason chapter where being connected was mistaken for being competitive. Another instance where the loudest move came after the most important ones slipped away.

The twist isn’t that the Pirates want Valdez. The twist is when they want him — and what it says about everything that already went wrong.