With a season coming to an end, I want to go over the free agents I think should be at the top of the Pittsburgh Pirates' list of players to go after.
The 2023 season has come to an end. The Pittsburgh Pirates had a roller coaster of a season with a lot of ups and downs. Either way, I personally am looking forward to next year, but the team should be somewhat active in the free agent market. Last year, they spent $30.375 million on Major League free agents, plus another $5-$7 million in trade acquisitions. In comparison to their previous off-season, they spent just $16.025 million. I think it’s a reasonable assumption they will spend somewhere in the $35-$40 million range this off-season.
The team still has some holes to fill. Some said holes could be filled by prospects, but it would greatly benefit the Pirates if they went out and signed a free agent or acquired someone via trade to solve the issue both quickly, effectively, and easily. Today, I want to go through my 2023-2024 off-season wishlist. I’ll try to be as reasonable as possible here.
The first thing I want to get out of the way is that I both want the Pirates to, and think they will, re-sign Andrew McCutchen. What Pirates fan doesn’t want the Pirates to re-sign him? He’s probably the very first thing on everyone’s wishlist. Because I think he’s such an obvious choice to be at the top of any Pirates’ free agent wishlist, I will choose to exclude him.