The Pirates are eyeing options among their in-state competitors as they look to bolster their roster this offseason.
Currently, Pittsburgh appears to be in negotiations to acquire free-agent slugger Kyle Schwarber. A report from ESPN’s Jeff Passan indicated this on Tuesday.
They also expressed interest in Josh Naylor prior to his re-signing with the Mariners.
Schwarber is expected to attract several teams this off-season. He’s shown an interest in returning to Philadelphia, but given his impressive 56 home runs and 132 RBIs from last season, it’s likely he won’t rush into a decision.
As Passan noted, “Schwarber is in high demand…when you hit like Schwarber, age and position don’t matter,” which is true. Teams, from the obvious candidates like the Philadelphia Phillies, who are eager to bring him back, to less expected ones like the Pirates, are showing interest.
To create some financial wiggle room, the Pirates traded Ke’Bryan Hayes to the Reds and David Bednar to the Yankees, which is, I think, a move to enable further acquisitions.
General manager Ben Cherington has previously stated that the team would explore opportunities in both free agency and trades. “We need to step up our offense,” he commented at a recent general managers’ meeting in Las Vegas, adding that not doing so would be disappointing.
The Pirates’ ambitions don’t stop there. Reportedly, they were willing to offer Naylor over $78 million before he returned to Seattle.
Aiming to strengthen the team, adding someone like Paul Skeens, a highly regarded player, could motivate the Pirates to start winning. Skeens, by the way, won the National League Cy Young Award this year, though there were whispers that he might not trust the Pirates organization and could be looking for a trade.
