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The Pirates have once again failed to make the postseason, but Pittsburgh fans watching this year's playoff games may recognize a few homegrown talents that used to wear the black and yellow. Some were even fan favorites.
With the ALDS and NLDS series set to kick off Saturday, here are four former Pirates players who will be looking to help their respective teams in the pennant race.
4 former Pirates who are playing in the 2024 MLB Postseason
Gerrit Cole (RHP, New York Yankees)
Pirates fans remember Gerrit Cole as the first overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft who was supposed to be the franchise's bright, shining beacon of hope. Instead, as seems to be the case with many former Pirates, Cole's career truly took off after he left Pittsburgh. The Pirates traded him to the Houston Astros in 2018, and he subsequently signed with the New York Yankees as a free agent in 2020.
Cole is a six-time MLB All-Star (once with Pittsburgh, twice with Houston and three times with New York), two-time American League ERA leader, two-time MLB strikeout leader, 2021 AL wins leader, and 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner. The Yankees will be handing him the ball for Game 1 of the ALDS against the Kansas City Royals Saturday.
Starling Marte (OF, New York Mets)
Starling Marte spent the first eight years of his career with the Pirates until they traded him to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2020. During his eight seasons in Pittsburgh, he hit .287 with 108 homers, 420 RBI and 239 steals. He also won Gold Gloves in 2015 and 2016.
The Pirates traded Marte in the middle of a rebuild (how'd that turn out, anyway?), and Arizona flipped him to the Miami Marlins in August 2020. A year later, he was traded again, this time to the Oakland A's. He signed a four-year contract with the Mets in free agency in 2022, and he had an excellent first season in New York before injuries sidelined him for parts of the next two. Now, he is healthy again and will be expected to continue delivering big hits for the Mets in the 2024 postseason.
Adam Frazier (IF, Kansas City Royals)
Adam Frazier was selected by the Pirates in the sixth round of the 2013 MLB Draft and played in Pittsburgh from 2016 until 2021, when he was traded to the San Diego Padres. He has since strung together one-year contracts with the Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles and now, the Kansas City Royals.
Frazier joins fellow former Pirate Chris Stratton on the Royals, who have undergone one of the biggest year over year turnarounds in recent Major League history to reach the ALDS in 2024 after a 106-loss season in 2023. Frazier, an offseason free-agent signing for Kansas City, has been a key contributor to that turnaround.
Joe Musgrove (RHP, San Diego Padres)
San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove comes with an asterisk, as he left his most recent start during the Wild Card Round with an injury and is now set to undergo Tommy John surgery. Still, the former Pirate has been an anchor in San Diego's starting rotation since being traded from Pittsburgh in 2021.
With Musgrove sidelined for the remainder of the playoffs, a likely candidate to replace him is – you guessed it – another former Pirate. Pittsburgh signed Martin Perez to a one-year deal during the 2023-24 offseason before trading him to the Padres at this year's trade deadline. He experienced somewhat of a resurgence in San Diego but stumbled a bit in his last start of the regular season, likely explaining why he was initially left off the Wild Card roster.
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