One realistic remaining free agent at each position for the Pirates to pursue

Second Base - Tony Kemp

It wasn’t all that long ago Tony Kemp quietly had an extremely productive season at the plate. In 2021, Kemp batted .279/.382/.418 with a .351 wOBA, and 128 wRC+ in 397 plate appearances. Kemp had a higher walk rate than strikeout rate at 13.1% and 12.8%, respectively. While his .139 isolated slugging percentage was above average, Kemp finished the year as a +3.1 fWAR player.

After a down season in 2022, where his wRC+ dipped to just 91, Kemp had his worst full season yet. In his last 419 plate appearances, Kemp had just a .209/.303/.304 triple-slash, .276 wOBA, and 77 wRC+, a far cry from the near 130 wRC+ he posted just a few years prior. Kemp still had a better walk rate (10.5%) than strikeout rate (9.5%), but that’s the only silver lining about his bat from 2023.

Defensively, Kemp was a solid glove at second base in 2021-2022 with only -2 DRS but +5 OAA. He was also decent out in left field with +2 DRS and zero OAA. However, just like his bat, his glove also had a career-worst season. He had -9 DRS and zero OAA at second base and -3 DRS and -1 OAA in the outfield.

Given Kemp’s last two seasons and his declining defensive value, Kemp will probably have to settle for a minor league contract with a Spring Training invite. That’s the only way I’d be okay with the Pirates bringing Kemp in. I think they have better options at second base and left field, even if they make a trade, but having him as this year’s Chris Owings, who only comes to the Majors in the event of an emergency, would not be a bad idea. The Pirates reportedly considered Kemp earlier this off-season.