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

Utility Man Adam Frazier - WPA: +1.28

The Pirates traded Adam Frazier back at the 2021 trade deadline. Since then, it’s been a rough go of things for the former all-star. However, his versatility still makes him useful, and if his bat can show even some resemblance of his early days with the Pirates, he could be a useful utility man.

Frazier batted just .240/.300/.396, but hit a career high 13 home runs. Frazier has always avoided strikeouts like the plague, and had just a 14.9% strikeout rate. However, he’s never been able to capitalize on a high walk rate and drew a free pass just 7% of the time last year. Overall, Frazier finished the year with a 93 wRC+.

Frazier was a Gold Glove finalist a few times for the Pirates, but his defense at second base has waned. Last season, he had -4 defensive runs saved and -15 outs above average. It was by far the worst season of his career at the keystone. He did play 64 innings in the outfield and had +3 DRS, which was a positive, even if he played it sparingly.

But Frazier had a WPA of +1.28, the fourth highest among primary second basemen last season. The only ones who provided a higher WPA were Jose Altuve, Ozzie Albies, and Ketel Marte. He improved the Orioles chances of winning more than Marcus Semien did in the regular season, who had a 0.94 WPA. A lot of that comes from Frazier coming through in crucial situations in 2023 multiple times. In high-leverage, Frazier batted .286/.349/.481 with three home runs in 90 plate appearances.

While I don’t believe the Pirates should bring back Frazier with the intent of giving him the starting role at second base, he can still play the outfield to an above average degree, and if he can at least rebound to an average level defensively at second base, he’ll be a fine utility man for next season.