Recent free agent signings should put Pittsburgh Pirates in a great position

Starting pitchers are now going off the board. Blake Snell started things by signing a massive deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but two other pitchers have now received much more money than many expected, and neither is in Snell's league. The New York Mets just signed Frankie Montas to a two-year deal at $34 million, while the Chicago Cubs signed veteran lefty Matthew Boyd to a two-year pact worth $29 million.

The latter two names received a whole lot more than what many were likely expecting. For reference, Montas is making as much as MLB Trade Rumors predicted Luis Severino would make, and just about $9 million less than what they project Max Fried to receive on an AAV basis. Keep in mind that Montas had both an ERA and FIP approaching 5.00 in 2024. Meanwhile, Boyd is entering his age-34 season, hasn’t started more than 15 games since 2019, and is making just about $5 million less AAV than what Yusei Kikuchi ended up signing for.

Luckily, this madness could heavily favor the Pittsburgh Pirates. If there’s one thing the Pirates have, it’s starting pitching depth. Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, Jared Jones, Luis Ortiz, Bailey Falter, Johan Oviedo, Mike Burrows, and Braxton Ashcraft are all on the 40-man roster. That’s not even including the vast amount of MLB-ready or near-MLB-ready pitching depth in the upper levels of the Pirates’ system.

How Pirates can benefit from latest wild swings in MLB free agency pitching market

The Pirates' Triple-A club should open the year with a rotation consisting of Bubba Chandler, Thomas Harrington, and Po-Yu Chen. Southpaws Anthony Solometo and Hunter Barco could soon join them at Indianapolis if they get off to good and healthy starts at Altoona. There’s a myriad of high-ceiling pitching prospects in the lower levels of the Pirates’ minor-league system, too, like Levi Sterling, Zander Mueth, Carlson Reed, Michael Kennedy, Josh Hartle, and Matt Ager.

The value of starting pitching is expensive right now. When back-of-the-rotation arms are signing for $15+ million, teams are going to start looking at the trade market for answers to solve their starting pitching depth woes. The Pirates should be one of the first teams other teams turn to if they need SP help.

Boyd and Montas' signings set a bar for middle and back-of-the-rotation pitchers, and this may change how teams approach the trade market for starters. The Pirates need bats, and with the amount of pitching they have, they have no reason not to make some notable trades this offseason. The cost of free agent starting pitching right now only gives them another reason to make a trade to get a bat in exchange for a young pitcher.