A way-too-early Pittsburgh Pirates free agent wishlist for 2024-25 offseason

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The 2024 season is nearing its end. While there is still an entire postseason left to play, it’s never too early to start thinking about offseason plans. The Pittsburgh Pirates should try to get ahead of the curve and start looking at holes on the roster that need to be patched and other areas that could be reinforced.

While they probably will not go big in free agency, there are plenty of free agents in the mid-tier range that are within the Pirates’ budget that they should chase.

Note that we are only looking at free agents here. The Pirates can and should use their vast amount of pitching talent to acquire some players via trade. But, based only on free agency, this is who the Pirates should go after. This is also not factoring in any minor league or non-guaranteed signings, as well as trying to stay relatively realistic within the parameters everyone knows the team will restrict themselves to.

Carlos Santana

The Pittsburgh Pirates need a first baseman. They could bring Rowdy Tellez back into the fold, but another former friend who would be an even better fit is Carlos Santana. The veteran is a useful switch-hitter, but what’s even more promising is that despite his advancing age, his numbers under the hood have rebounded.

The veteran 1B has slashed .243/.329/.432 with a .330 wOBA and 116 wRC+ through 547 plate appearances for the Minnesota Twins. Although Santana saw his walk rate dwindle again to a career-low 10.4% rate, he's still only struck out 17% of the time this season. Santana currently has 23 home runs, the ninth time he has hit 20+ in a season in his career.

Santana posted a career-low 6.7% barrel rate last season, but has seen that rebound back to 7.2% this year (7.6% is his career average). Santana also wasn’t a huge overperformer, either. He has a .325 xwOBA, which is in the 56th percentile of batters this season. That is also a huge improvement over the career-low .308 xwOBA he put up in 2023.

Santana is probably in line to win the Gold Glove at first base in the American League. He has +7 defensive runs saved at first with +13 outs above average. This is just the eighth time in the Statcast era a first baseman has put up double-digit OAA, and four of those times have come from Christian Walker.

Now, Santana does have large platoon splits. He has a 163 wRC+ when facing a lefty, but a 98 wRC+ when facing a righty, but a 98 wRC+ isn’t unplayable. Signing Santana would nearly eliminate the undoubted need for a platoon at first base. Santana has posted good numbers this year with Minnesota while playing a regular role. But, in the event the Pirates feel like they do need a platoon option, they could acquire a 1B who does crush righties via trade, like Seth Brown or Gavin Sheets.

Randal Grichuk

The Pittsburgh Pirates could desperately use another outfielder, and one of the most underrated ones on the free agent market this offseason is Randal Grichuk. Grichuk has consistently been a solid outfielder, one who provides an above-average amount of power and an average glove who can play all three outfield spots.

Grichuk has put up his best numbers since his 2015 rookie season, batting .288/.344/.508. He has a .364 wOBA and 133 wRC+. Grichuk has never been one to draw many walks and had just a 6.9% walk rate this year, but he's struck out just 16.6% of the time. That is a career low for the veteran outfielder by a wide margin.

Grichuk’s defense graded out as solid but not unspectacular, as it usually does. He had +2 defensive runs saved and a +18.8 UZR/150, but -2 outs above average. His arm strength graded out as slightly above average, as his throws clocked in at 86.3 MPH (60th percentile), while his speed also sat around the same level at 27.6 feet/second (57th percentile).

The only thing is that Grichuk has mostly been used as a part-timer in 2024. Grichuk has collected just 259 plate appearances in 97 games. In a 150-game stretch, that only comes out to about 400 plate appearances. Grichuk has hit both lefties and righties this year, with a 138 wRC+ vs LHP and 123 wRC+ vs RHP, but nearly 70% of his plate appearances have come against a lefty. Still, a 133 wRC+ and .852 OPS would be a huge boost to the Pirates’ lineup, regardless of platoon splits.

David Robertson

David Robertson is an ageless wonder that has seemingly flown under the radar for quite some time. One of the few active members of the 2006 draft class, the veteran right-handed reliever is coming off his ninth season with an ERA+ above 120 in 50+ innings pitched, and he has shown little to no signs of slowing down.

Robertson has a 3.27 ERA, 2.61 FIP, and 1.15 WHIP in 66 innings for the Texas Rangers this season. His 34.1% strikeout rate is the best he’s posted since 2017. He has also not been prone to allowing free passes with an 8.4% walk rate, and has only allowed home runs at an 0.68-per-9 rate.

Robertson is currently above the 65th percentile of both exit velocity (88.2 MPH) and hard-hit rate (37.1%), and he’s been well above average at limiting both contact and quality contact. Opponents swing and miss at his stuff 29.4% of the time, which is in the top 79th percentile. His 6% barrel rate is also among the best, clocking in at the top 80th percentile this year.

One thing that could make Pittsburgh an attractive destination for a veteran reliever like Robertson is the opportunity to close games out. The Pirates will likely hold auditions for the closer role during spring training and potentially through the first few weeks of next season. Robertson has plenty of experience working out of the ninth inning, recording five seasons where he saved 15+ games, including 18 last year.

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