Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Free Agents To Pursue Based on Winning Percentage Added

The Pittsburgh Pirates should target these three free agents based on the stat winning percentage added

The Pittsburgh Pirates need to reinforce the current roster. They will do this through either free agency or trade. There are plenty of decent free agents out there, but I want to take a look at some underrated players currently looking for teams based on winning percentage added, or WPA for short.

But before we get into today’s players, what exactly is WPA? It’s exactly how it sounds; how much a player contributed to their team’s chances of winning. Why use WPA? It better contextualizes how good a player was in important situations. Looking at numbers with RISP tells half the story. A double with two RISP means the same thing in a game where the scoring team is winning by one run, or seven runs. WPA, however, would obviously say scoring two runs on a hit when the game is close greatly impacts a team’s chance of winning compared to scoring two more runs when you’re already up by seven.

However, do keep in mind a few things with WPA. It is cumulative, so coming through during important situations is one factor, but you also need to be presented with many of said situations to accrue a high WPA. It also is not a predictive measurement. It’s not built to give you an idea, or make an estimate of how good a player will be going forward.

So, based on that, who are some free agents that should be on the Pirates’ radar?