Pirates have set up a Jack Suwinski rebound in 2025 and it looks promising

All Pirates fans have been waiting for an outfield transaction of some kind all offseason, but with just a handful of names remaining, it is possible Pittsburgh is looking internally to fill the void. With no move on the docket and spring training inching its way closer, it appears that Ben Cherington is leaning towards an internal option who struggled greatly in 2024.

Even after Jack Suwinski put together a poor season across the major leagues and Triple-A, his upside is still there, as he proved in 2023 that his bat can be above average. Additionally, Matt Hague's history of improving team offense aligns nicely with Suwinski's tools, and could be the reason why he rebounds in 2025.

Pirates hiring Matt Hague brings hope that Jack Suwinski can bounce back in 2025.

The goal for Hague this spring is to get Suwinski swinging like he did in 2023, while also improving on an issue that has lingered in his entire career. In that season, Suwinski put together a wRC+ of 112 with an OPS of .793, but struck out at a high rate of 32.2% (with a high whiff rate of 30.1%). When he did make contact, his barrel rate reached 15.7% (94th percentile) and his average exit velocity reached 90.5 mph.

When he hit the ball, it came off the bat hard, yet finding that consistency was a significant problem. Oddly enough, in 2024, Suwinski struck out at a lower rate of 28.5% and his whiff rate dropped to 27.4%. Unfortunately, his barrel rate also went down to 8.8, and his average exit velocity was just 88.9 mph. Nothing went right for him, and there was not a lot of hope for him after he performed similarly in Triple-A.

Now, it's partially on Hague's shoulders to find a middle ground. One thing Hague did well in Toronto was teaching good plate discipline to his players. As a team last year, the Blue Jays had the third-best whiff rating of 22.6% and sixth-best strikeout rate at 20.7%. Those are impressive team-wide marks, and now the Pirates have the guy who helped accomplish that as a member of their coaching staff.

This spring training, it will be very exciting to see what Hague can do with Suwinski, who appears to be a player he can really fix. Time will tell what ends up happening, but it appears the Pirates have a lot of trust in this idea.