Pittsburgh Pirates: Players Who Must Be on Their Radar at the MLB Winter Meetings

The Pirates must keep these players on their radar as we head into the Winter Meetings.

Dec 7, 2022; San Diego, CA, USA; A detailed view of a 2022 MLB Winter Meetings logo at Manchester
Dec 7, 2022; San Diego, CA, USA; A detailed view of a 2022 MLB Winter Meetings logo at Manchester | Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
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Free Agents

Michael Wacha

The Pirates need starting pitching, badly; probably the most of any non-rebuilding team, if not more so than some rebuilding teams. One of the players I have wanted the Pirates to sign all offseason is former division rival Michael Wacha. Wacha is coming off his second consecutive quality campaign and looks to post his third good season in a row.

In 134.1 innings, Wacha worked to a 3.22 ERA, 3.89 FIP, and 1.16 WHIP. All of his peripherals were roughly league average or better. He had a 22.4% strikeout rate, a walk rate clocking in at 7.8%, and a HR/9 of 1.00. He was also in the 70th+ percentile of exit velocity (88.1 MPH), and hard hit rate (35.3%).

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