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Pirates Place Ji Hwan Bae, Liover Peguero, Jack Little On Waivers

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The Pirates have placed three players on waivers. One of them is outfielder Ji Hwan Bae, per Danny Demilio of Pittsburgh Baseball Now. The other two are infielder Liover Peguero and right-hander Jack Little, per Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

At one point, the now-26-year-old Bae was a high-profile international signing who ranked among the organization’s better farmhands. He’s appeared in parts of four big league seasons but has never found his stride. The South Korea native carries a meek .223/.294/.293 line in 514 trips to the plate at the MLB level. He’s a good runner, swiping 37 bags in 49 tries (75.6%) and sitting in the 82nd percentile of MLB players in terms of average sprint speed, but Bae has fanned in more than one-quarter of his plate appearances and sits well below average in terms of exit velocity, hard-hit rate and other batted-ball metrics.

Originally a middle infielder, Bae never developed into a passable option at shortstop due in large part to subpar arm strength. The Bucs have given him plenty of run at second base and in center field — more the latter in recent seasons — but he hasn’t drawn quality grades at either position. He’s continually posted strong numbers in Triple-A (.305/.389/.451 in 1109 plate appearances) and has a minor league option remaining.

Peguero was an even more highly touted prospect than Bae. Originally acquired from the D-backs in exchange for Starling Marte, he’s a former top-100 prospect whom the organization at one point viewed as a possible shortstop of the future. In an all-too-common refrain for Pirates position prospects, however, his bat never came around. Peguero has seen action in four big league seasons but has mustered only a .227/.278/.368 slash line in 315 turns at the plate.

Unlike Bae, Peguero has also looked overmatched at the top minor league level. Outside of a late-2023 cameo in Triple-A where he smacked a pair of homers in 30 promising plate appearances, Peguero has produced well below-average numbers with the Pirates’ top affiliate in Indianapolis. He’s a .253/.317/.403 hitter in 888 plate appearances there, including a career-worst .247/.313/.375 showing in 75 games with Indy this season. Baseball America and other outlets have lauded his quality defensive tools but also noted a penchant for slipping into poor mechanical stretches that lead to far too many throwing errors. Peguero is out of minor league options.

The 27-year-old Little came to the Pirates via waivers in August. He made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2025. Los Angeles selected Little out of Stanford with its fifth-round pick back in 2019. He’s pitched only three MLB innings and posted a 4.06 ERA with a 20.2% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate in 62 relief innings between the two organizations’ Triple-A affiliates in 2025.

Little sits 94 mph with his four-seamer and complements the pitch with a slider and splitter — both in the mid-80s. He’s never been a top-ranked prospect in L.A.’s system but does have a pair of minor league options remaining and decent track record in the minors.

Pirates Claim Dugan Darnell

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The Pirates announced that they have claimed right-hander Dugan Darnell off waivers from the Rockies. He was immediately transferred to the 60-day injured list, so the Bucs didn’t need to open up a 40-man roster spot. In late August, it was reported that Darnell would be undergoing surgery to address a torn labrum in his hip, a procedure with a recovery timeline of about eight months.

There was no previous indication that the Rockies had removed Darnell from their roster. It’s common at this time of year for teams to place players on waivers, as many clubs are facing roster crunches. The 60-day IL goes away five days after the World Series, so players need to retake 40-man roster spots. Some breathing room is created by others reaching free agency but teams often need to clear space. Even if a team doesn’t need space now, having it is valuable throughout the winter for other moves, including protecting guys from the Rule 5 draft.

RosterResource projected the Rockies to have 41 guys for 40 roster spots at the beginning of the offseason, including Darnell. It seems Colorado tried to open a spot by passing Darnell through waivers but the Pirates intervened. The Pirates will face a crunch of their own, as RosterResource projects them to have 42 guys for 40 spots, not including Darnell. The Bucs will therefore have to do some clearing in the coming days.

For now, they are bringing a fresh relief arm into the system. Darnell, 28, was signed by the Rockies as an undrafted free agent in 2021. He got a very limited big league debut this year. He was called up August 1 but then left hip inflammation put him on the IL three weeks later. In that debut, he tossed 11 2/3 innings over nine appearances. He allowed five earned runs on ten hits and seven walks while striking out five.

That’s a small sample of work, so presumably the Bucs are also putting some stock in his minor league track record. He has thrown 255 1/3 innings on the farm with a 3.74 earned run average, 30.6% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate. That includes 53 2/3 Triple-A innings in 2025, pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, with a 3.19 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 43.5% ground ball rate.

Given Darnell’s surgery timeline, he likely won’t be available until the middle of next year. Perhaps the Bucs will keep him on the 40-man through the winter and then put him on the 60-day IL again once it returns in spring training. It’s also possible the Bucs try to pass him through waivers unclaimed during the offseason, therefore keeping him as non-roster depth.

Photo courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images

Staff Notes: Rockies, Baker, Kiekhefer, Tigers

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The Rockies’ search for a front office leader will drag into the offseason. Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports that the Rox don’t intend to announce their baseball operations hire until next week. The World Series will end on Saturday at the latest, but the Rockies are apparently content to go at least a few days into their offseason activity without a GM in place.

Colorado doesn’t have any free agents who’d receive consideration for a qualifying offer. Their option decisions are easy calls to buy out Kyle Farmer and Thairo Estrada. It’s not a big deal not to have a GM for either of those moves. However, the first five days of the offseason see plenty of waiver activity as teams are required to get their rosters down to 40 without the injured list. Colorado has top waiver priority as the worst team in the league. It would be ideal to have a permanent baseball operations leader for those opportunities, but it doesn’t appear they’ll be in place for that rush. The GM will also need to oversee a managerial search process that could take weeks. Guardians assistant general manager Matt Forman and Diamondbacks AGM Amiel Sawdaye are among the finalists to replace Bill Schmidt in the GM chair.

While we await Colorado’s decision, let’s turn to a few teams that have made minor front office or coaching moves.

  • The Pirates parted ways with vice president of player performance John Baker, reports Jason Mackey of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. A former big league catcher, Baker had been with the Bucs for the past five seasons. He spent his first four years as the organization’s farm director before moving to the more nebulous player performance role last winter. Michael Chernow replaced Baker as the player development director in January.
  • There are a couple changes coming to Oli Marmol’s coaching group with the Cardinals. Katie Woo of The Athletic reports that assistant pitching coach Dean Kiekhefer and game-planning coach Packy Elkins will be reassigned to strategist roles. Woo notes that the Cards intend to hire an assistant pitching coach and an assistant hitting coach later in the offseason. She also writes that the club will add new hires in international scouting and player development. Cardinals fans will want to read the full column, which includes quotes from new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom on building their front office infrastructure without replacing most of the key staffers from the John Mozeliak era.
  • The Tigers are hiring Alex Smith away from the Cubs to work as their vice president of baseball strategy, report Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. Smith had been on Craig Counsell’s staff with the somewhat vague title of strategy coach. Smith had spent three seasons on Chicago’s MLB staff — one under David Ross and two with Counsell. Sharma and Mooney write that he was largely tasked with helping the coaches integrate data into their preparation. The Cornell product returns to a front office after working in the Cubs’ analytics department between 2015-22, overlapping with Detroit president of baseball operations Scott Harris for two years. Harris had worked as Chicago’s assistant general manager in 2018-19.

Pirates To Hire Bill Murphy As Pitching Coach

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The Pirates are expected to hire Astros pitching coach Bill Murphy for the same position, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Pittsburgh had a vacancy after former pitching coach Oscar Marin did not have his contract renewed. Assistant pitching coach Brent Strom is also not returning to the team.

Murphy has been a coach in Houston’s organization since 2016. He was first hired as a pitching coach for Rookie-level Greeneville. Murphy moved up to Single-A Tri-City in 2017, then to Double-A Corpus Christi the following season. He became an assistant pitching coach with the big league club in 2021, coincidentally working underneath Strom (then Houston’s pitching coach) in his first season. Strom stepped down at the end of that year, so Houston elevated Murphy and Josh Miller to co-pitching coach positions.

Houston’s pitching staff hadn’t missed a beat after Strom’s departure. They lead MLB with a 3.61 earned run average over the past four seasons. Only the Braves have a higher strikeout rate over that stretch. They dropped to 11th in ERA this year but led MLB with a 24.9% strikeout percentage. No team got more swinging strikes.

The Astros already had an excellent pitching staff by the time that Murphy and Miller took the lead positions. Hunter Brown’s emergence as an ace has come under their tutelage, however. The Astros navigated various injuries on the pitching staff over the past few years, with the likes of J.P. France, Ronel Blanco and Jason Alexander each turning in a solid or better season in that time.

Murphy gets to work with an arguably even more talented group of arms in Pittsburgh. Paul Skenes is one of the few pitchers in baseball who is better than Brown. Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft and Mike Burrows might all be in the Opening Day rotation, while Jared Jones could be back from elbow surgery in the second half. Mitch Keller has tailed off late after stellar first halves in three straight years. He’s unlikely to turn into an ace at age 30, but it’d be a boon for the Bucs if they can get him to sustain his #2/3 caliber production for an entire season.

The Astros will now need to decide whether to turn the full-time job to Miller or hire a new co-pitching coach. They’re already revamping their offensive instruction after moving on from co-hitting coaches Alex Cintrón and Troy Snitker.

Offseason Outlook: Pittsburgh Pirates

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The Pirates took a step back in 2025 and fired manager Derek Shelton early in the season. He was replaced by his bench coach, Don Kelly, who'll take over in the dugout into 2026 and beyond. General manager Ben Cherington's job status prompted plenty of speculation, but he'll be back for 2026 as well. Can the Pirates finally turn things around?

Guaranteed Contracts

Total 2026 commitments: $30.5MM
Total long-term commitments: $130.5MM through 2030

Option Decisions

  • None

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

The Pirates have drawn increasing levels of praise for their excellent core of young pitching, headlined by likely NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes, but the team's collection of bats is miles behind its impressive stable of arms. Anemic offense proved to be Pittsburgh's downfall yet again in 2025. The Pirates scored just 583 runs -- last in the majors and nearly 300 fewer than the MLB-leading Yankees' mark of 849. Pittsburgh hitters connected on just 117 homers -- a whopping 31 long balls behind the 29th-ranked Cardinals. The Pirates' lineup ranked 28th in batting average, 23rd in OBP and dead last in slugging percentage.

Addressing such widespread offensive deficiency isn't an easy task. Cherington's job security was the source of considerable speculation late in the year. He'll be back for 2026, but with Shelton out the door and owner Bob Nutting calling for "urgency" -- a rich declaration from an owner who hasn't signed a free agent to a multi-year deal in a decade -- there's mounting pressure for the sixth-year Pittsburgh GM to bolster the lineup in support of a strong pitching staff.

Even coming off a last-place finish, the Pirates seem far likelier to add to the roster than subtract. That doesn't mean there won't be some veteran Buccos available via trade -- there very likely will be -- but such trades will be aimed at acquiring young, MLB-ready hitters who can augment a lineup that's badly in need of an overhaul. Let's run through the roster and some possibilities.

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Twins Claim Ryan Kreidler

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The Twins announced that utilityman Ryan Kreidler has been claimed off waivers from the Pirates. Pittsburgh designated Kreidler for assignment two days ago. Minnesota’s 40-man roster count jumps from 38 to 39.

Kreidler, 28 next month, is a multi-positional player who hasn’t yet hit in limited chances the big leagues. He has appeared in the past four big league seasons but with a total of just 211 plate appearances over those four years. He struck out in 31.8% of those trips to the plate and produced a dismal .138/.208/.176 line.

His minor league numbers are naturally greater in quality and quantity. He has a .236/.342/.401 line and 106 wRC+ in 1,963 plate appearances in his minor league career. That includes a .238/.363/.389 line and 109 wRC+ in 401 plate appearances in 2025. If he could bring some more of that offense up to the majors, he could become a useful utility guy. He has experience at the three infield spots to the left of first base, as well as center and left field.

However, his grip on a roster spot with the Tigers was slipping. 2025 was his final option year, meaning he will be out of options going forward. The Tigers designated him for assignment in August when they selected left-hander Drew Sommers. The Pirates claimed him but put him back on the wire this week when they claimed outfielder Will Robertson.

The Twins have loads of questions about their roster going into the offseason. They underwent a big sell-off at the deadline, trading away many pieces, including infielder Carlos Correa and outfielder Harrison Bader. It’s possible they do some more rebuild-type moves this winter, which could include trading guys like Trevor Larnach, Matt Wallner or Royce Lewis.

With so much uncertainty, it’s possible there will be a path for guys like Kreidler to fill in some of the open playing time. It’s also possible that the Twins put him back on waivers in the winter and hope that he clears so that they can keep him as non-roster depth.

Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images

Pirates Claim Will Robertson, Designate Ryan Kreidler

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The Pirates announced they have claimed outfielder Will Robertson off waivers from the White Sox. Ryan Kreidler was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Pittsburgh marks the third MLB organization for Robertson in the past four months. He came to Chicago in a trade from Toronto back in July after getting designated for assignment by the Blue Jays. Robertson had been in Toronto’s minor league system for his entire career heading into this season, since getting drafted by the team in 2019.

A strong start to the Triple-A season earned Robertson his first taste of MLB action in June. He slashed .292/.403/.578 with the Buffalo Bisons prior to getting the call. Robertson made three starts with the Blue Jays, recording an RBI single for his first MLB hit on June 15 against the Phillies. It would be his only knock with the team.

Robertson spent his first week in Chicago with the big-league club. He appeared in four games, making two starts. He went 0-for-6 with four strikeouts. Robertson was optioned to Triple-A on July 19. He returned to the White Sox on August 27 and carved out a semi-regular role over the final month of the season. Robertson made 13 starts in September, while also appearing twice as a pinch-hitter. He recorded seven hits in 44 at-bats.

Andrew McCutchen and Tommy Pham are free agents, so Pittsburgh could use some outfield depth heading into 2026. Robertson’s persistent strikeout issues will make it tough for him to hold down a regular MLB job, but he’s shown power potential at times in the minors. He hit 20 home runs in Triple-A between Buffalo and Charlotte this past season. Robertson popped 19 homers in 464 plate appearances with Buffalo in 2024, matching his mark from 2023 with Double-A New Hampshire.

Pittsburgh claimed Kreidler off waivers from Detroit in August. He spent a week on the big-league roster in September before heading back to Triple-A Indianapolis. Kreidler did not make an appearance with the Pirates.

Kreidler spent parts of four MLB seasons with the Tigers. He’s hit just .138 across 211 plate appearances at the highest level. His main draw is defensive versatility. Kreidler has made appearances at second base, shortstop, third base, left field, and center field with Detroit. If Kreidler clears waivers, he’ll qualify for minor league free agency at the beginning of the offseason.

Chris Owings Announces Retirement

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Infielder Chris Owings announced his retirement on his Instagram page last week. He last played in affiliated ball in the Dodgers organization in 2024. Now, it appears the 11-year big-league veteran will hang up his spikes at the age of 34. “This game has given me more than I could’ve ever imagined,” said Owings, who went on to thank his family, coaches, and the various organizations of which he had been a part during his career.

Owings was drafted in the first round by the Diamondbacks in 2009, making his major-league debut four years later. He would spend six seasons with Arizona, playing a total of 575 games out in the desert and batting .250/.291/.378 with a 73 wRC+. During that time, he maxed out at 552 plate appearances in 147 games in 2015. The following year, he led the majors in triples (11) while batting .277/.315/.416 in 119 games and splitting time between shortstop and center field. After leaving the Diamondbacks following the 2018 season, he went on to spend brief major-league stints with the Royals, Red Sox, Rockies, Orioles, and Pirates, often acting as a utility player. His last big-league appearances came in 2023 with Pittsburgh. He signed a minor league pact with the Dodgers in February 2024 and played in 80 games at the Triple-A level before being released in July of that year.

In all, Owings played in 723 games and earned just over $11MM in his career. He batted .239/.286/.364 with 550 hits, 37 home runs, 220 RBI, and 79 stolen bases. He was also a serviceable defender, grading out as below-average in 2,105 1/3 innings at shortstop (-11 career DRS) but above average in 1,647 2/3 innings at the keystone (9 DRS). We at MLBTR congratulate Owings on a solid career and wish him the best in retirement.

Photo courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images

Will The Pirates Trade Dennis Santana?

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After years of speculation, the Pirates traded their closer at this past summer’s deadline. David Bednar was shipped off to the Bronx for a three-player package headlined by catching prospect Rafael Flores. That opened the ninth inning for breakout setup man Dennis Santana, who got an extended run as a closer for the first time in his career.

Santana has been a revelation since the Pirates claimed him off waivers from the Yankees in June 2024. The Dominican-born righty tossed 44 1/3 innings of 2.44 ERA ball down the stretch that year, earning some stability with the fifth team of his big league career. He began this season in a setup role, then briefly took over as closer when Bednar’s early-season struggles got him demoted to Triple-A. Bednar was back in the ninth by the end of April, but the closer role became Santana’s for good after the deadline.

The various roles didn’t slow him down. The 29-year-old Santana turned in 70 1/3 frames with a career-best 2.18 earned run average. He recorded 16 saves and 12 holds while only relinquishing three leads all season. Santana had a less impressive 3.75 ERA after the trade deadline, yet that’s mostly attributable to a five-run blowup at Coors Field on August 1. He worked to a 1.90 ERA while holding opponents to a .152/.236/.291 slash in 23 appearances after that.

Santana doesn’t have the usual closer profile. He struck out 22.2% of batters faced, right around the league average for big league relievers. His 94.7 MPH average fastball speed is fine but not exceptional for a late-inning arm. Santana’s wipeout slider is his bread-and-butter offering, a pitch that gets enough whiffs that teams could project his strikeout rate to climb by a couple percentage points. He’s never going to be Mason Miller, though, and most clubs would probably project Santana more as the second or third-best arm in a contending bullpen.

Pittsburgh received trade interest in Santana at the deadline. The Phillies were the only team specifically known to have checked in, but it stands to reason the Bucs heard from at least a handful of clubs. They clearly didn’t find an offer to their liking. They’re now down to their final season of contractual control. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Santana for a $3.4MM salary that easily fits within the budget of any team, even one that runs payrolls as low as the Bucs do.

The Pirates aren’t intentionally rebuilding, but they’re coming off a 71-91 season that represented a step back from their consecutive 76-win campaigns before that. Should the Pirates view this offseason as a sell-high opportunity while letting Isaac Mattson, Justin Lawrence and Carmen Mlodzinski compete for the ninth? Will they?

Weigh in on our latest poll.

 

 

Coaching Notes: Royals, Pirates, Diamondbacks

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Royals GM J.J. Picollo told reporters (including Anne Rogers of MLB.com) after the regular season came to a close that he expected that “most of the [coaching] staff” (including hitting coach Alec Zumwait) will return to Kansas City in 2026. At the time, he acknowledged that there might be some “tweaks” to the staff in hopes of getting the most out of the club’s players. Today, Picollo provided more details on those tweaks when he told Rogers that the Royals won’t renew the contracts of assistant hitting coaches Keoni DeRenne and Joe Dillon for the 2026 campaign.

DeRenne has been in the Royals organization since 2020 and has spent the past four seasons as the club’s assistant hitting coach. He previously coached in the Cubs and Pirates organizations at the minor league level. Dillon, meanwhile, has been an assistant hitting coach for the Royals in each of the past two seasons and has previously served as an assistant hitting coach for the Nationals and spent two years as the hitting coach for the Phillies in addition to time in the Nationals and Marlins organizations coaching at the minor league level. Picollo praised the pair’s work in Kansas City, telling Rogers that both are “really good, tireless workers” who will “end up in a good spot somewhere in the game.” The duo figure to have plenty of opportunities to catch on somewhere with so many teams changing managers this winter. Many of those new managers will look to make tweaks to their team’s coaching staff, which could benefit coaches like DeRenne and Dillon.

As for the Royals themselves, the departures of their assistant hitting coaches will create an opportunity to bring in fresh voices to complement Zumwait. Kansas City finished the season with a team-wide wRC of just 93, even in spite of strong performances from core pieces like Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia, and Bobby Witt Jr. at the place. That’s because much of the club’s supporting cast disappointed in a big way, while some players counted on to be threats high in the batting order like Jonathan India and Jac Caglianone failed to produce. While the Royals might hope that a veteran like India can return to form on his own, a young player like Caglianone could surely benefit from the guidance that new members of the coaching staff could offer.

More from around the league’s coaching staffs…

  • Pirates hitting coach Matt Hague is expected to continue in his current role with the club, according to a report from Alex Stumpf of MLB.com earlier today. Hague, 40, spent part of three seasons as a big league player before starting his coaching career in 2020 as a minor league coach with the Blue Jays. He spent the 2024 season with Toronto in the big leagues as an assistant hitting coach, before getting hired away by Pittsburgh last offseason to serve as their primary hitting coach in the majors. Hague’s Pirates were the second-worst team in baseball by wRC+ this year as even well-regarded hitters like Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz took significant steps back at the plate. Even so, he’ll get another opportunity to guide the team’s offense in 2026, and with improving the lineup being a top priority for the Pirates this season he’ll hopefully have more talent to work with on the field next year.
  • The Diamondbacks are expecting to retain their 2025 coaching staff for next season, manager Torey Lovullo told Dave Burns and John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports last week. Lovullo left the door open for some roles on the coaching staff to change even as the entire group is retained for the 2026 campaign, though he suggested that coaches will generally remain in their same role they had this season. While the Diamondbacks disappointed with an 80-82 record this year, it’s hard not to see how injuries to key players like Corbin Burnes, A.J. Puk, and Justin Martinez wound up significantly impacting the team for the worse, and it’s not impossible to imagine that the club could have squeaked its way into the postseason had core pieces like Josh Naylor, Eugenio Suarez, and Merrill Kelly not been traded at this year’s deadline. Evidently, that’s enough for Lovullo and GM Mike Hazen to feel comfortable sticking with their current staff for at least one more year.
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