Pirates’ third base market dries up after Phillies strike out on Bo Bichette

The Pittsburgh Pirates still have a few critical needs as the winter winds down, and none may be greater than at third base. Sooner rather than later, Konnor Griffin will take care of shortstop, while Pittsburgh's need in the rotation is more of the back-end variety as opposed to pursuing a top-flight starter. Third base, though, is a big question.

Try as he might, Jared Triolo is not an everyday caliber player at the hot corner. On the free-agent market, true difference makers are pretty much limited to Eugenio Suárez at the hot corner, but the 34-year-old might prefer landing with a team that has better chances to contend in 2026.

The ideal Pirates target was the potential victim of a game of musical chairs. Had the Philadelphia Phillies landed Bo Bichette, it would have put Alec Bohm on the trade block and given Pittsburgh a prime opportunity.

Unfortunately, Philadelphia lost out on Bichette to one of their chief division rivals, the New York Mets. In the aftermath, they are unlikely to make another move, signaling a desire to hold onto Bohm.

Phillies whiffing on Bo Bichette eliminates Alec Bohm as third base trade target for Pirates

Bohm isn't a superstar, but he would have brought a few nice things to the table for Pittsburgh. First, he's a right-handed bat that would have helped to balance out the Pirates' lefty-heavy lineup. Second, the 29-year-old is a high-average, low strikeout bat, hitting .287 with a better-than-average 16.3% K-rate.

With exit velocities and hard hit rates in the 66th percentile, as well as very few whiffs, Bohm is a line-drive machine who doesn't hit for a ton of power (11 homers last year, a career high of 20 in 2023), but serves as a nice complementary bat that can put pressure on a defense.

In his final year of team control, the cost of an acquisition would have been reasonable, and it would have given the Pirates a year to figure out whether or not they wanted to sign him long-term.

Instead, they'll turn their attention elsewhere. Brett Baty or Mark Vientos of the Mets could be options with Bichette now occupying the hot corner in New York, though both are more volatile than Bohm. In free agency, the most likely candidate is Yoan Moncada, who would both serve as an upgrade and present a good deal of risk at the same time. Adding to the likelihood that Moncada could end up being the guy is his connection to Cherington, who ran the Red Sox when they gave the then-19-year-old the largest signing bonus of any international amateur free agent in history.

Options exist, but Bohm arguably would have been the best one. Unfortunately, now it's back to the drawing board for the Pirates.