Now is the time for the Pirates take advantage of the free agent market

There are still free agents available who could help the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024, and the team should look to strike

Even though Spring Training is underway, the free agent market still holds many notable names. It was a slow off-season, and most of the top names are still available. However, it now seems like some free agents, especially in the middle/lower tier, are starting to lower their asking price or are willing to take less expensive deals. If this holds true for the rest of the market, now is the time for the Pittsburgh Pirates to take advantage of a potential deal.

Now, am I saying the Pirates are going to go after Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell, or Cody Bellinger? As fun as that would be and as much as I would like that to happen, all I can say is that I’m not holding my breath on it.

But now the lower and middle tier level of free agents are starting to sign, and they’re not signing extremely lucrative deals. I am not the only one to point this out. Just look at some of the deals some free agents have recently received:

As this list shows, the 2024 salaries for these players dip as low as $1 million and top out at $5 million. Everyone complains about the Pirates waiting until the off-season is over or nearly over to make any moves, but the Pirates have the chance to prove that this year, this strategy could work out for them. The team could still use another starting pitcher and an outfielder, and there are definitely some names in this mid-tier list that I would like to see the Pirates go after.

There are some starting pitchers left I think would be in the Pirates’ price range, especially if some of the mid-tier free agents are lowering their asking price. Mike Clevinger, Domingo German, and Michael Lorenzen are pitchers I’d like to see the Pirates go after. They’ve already been connected to German and Lorenzen. German has his off-field issues, but Lorenzen was very solid last year. He was very solid for the Detroit Tigers, and while he struggled with the Phillies, he also went from an extremely pitcher-friendly environment to an extremely hitter-friendly environment. Clevinger also has had some off-field issues in the past, but he did have a strong second half of 2023. 

Two outfielders remaining on the market that I think would fit the Pirates. One is Michael A. Taylor, who hit .220/.278/.442 with a 96 wRC+. However, he was one of the best defensive center fielders in baseball, with +5 defensive runs saved and +8 outs above average. The other is Tommy Pham, who was a more productive batter, slashing .256/.328/.446 with a 110 wRC+. He was about average defensively, with zero DRS and -1 outs above average. He has experience at all three outfield positions as well.

With some of the mid-tier free agents starting to get signed at relatively low prices, now is the time for the Pirates to jump on a potential deal. They could round out the roster with one of Lorenzen, German, or Clevinger, and then either Pham or Taylor. I think this would give the team the last push it needs to put them in a really good spot entering the 2024 season.