5:03PM: The Pirates officially announced the signing.
1:24PM: The Pirates have agreed to a deal with free-agent outfielder Guillermo Heredia, as first reported by Francys Romero of Los Mayores (Twitter link). It’s a Major League deal, MLB.com’s Adam Berry adds. Heredia is represented by Magnus Sports.
The 28-year-old Heredia was with the Rays in 2019 and spent the three prior seasons with Seattle. He’s seen action in 382 big league games and batted a combined .240/.317/.342 with 17 homers, 46 doubles, a triple and six stolen bases in 1101 plate appearances. While Heredia’s overall profile isn’t exactly eye-catching, he’s been a solid producer against left-handed pitching, hitting at a .274/.335/.401 clip in 487 plate appearances when holding the platoon advantage (including a sharp .281/.339/.456 slash in 2019).
Heredia is capable of handling all three outfield spots, and while he doesn’t have plus marks for his work in center field, both Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved feel he’s a strong defender in either corner slot. Despite playing in only a part-time role and being shuffled between the Majors and Triple-A, Heredia ranks 21st among 565 big league outfielders with 19 Outs Above Average dating back to 2016, per Statcast.
The Rays non-tendered Heredia back in December despite a rather timid $1.1MM projected salary in arbitration. He has three-plus years of Major League service time, meaning that the Pirates can control him via arbitration all the way through 2022 should they see fit. Just how he fits into the club’s outfield picture is largely dependent on the fate of Starling Marte, for whom the organization is listening to trade offers.
A decent player for a decent Defensive 4th OF in place who can fill in in case they find a good deal for Marte
Agreed. A solid defensive OF who has a career .274 BA against LHP is a nice 4th OF, as well as a good platoon partner for Polanco, who has limited success against LHP and may not be able to play everyday with the shoulder issues. I like it.
A soon to be 29 year old with a .240 career average, 17 homers and 6 steals in over 900 at bats. The guy is bench fodder, the Pirates should at least show they are trying. There probably are some guys out there, say in the Lane Thomas/Dustin Fowler mold, who are young with upside that could be available since they are blocked. While not a blockbuster that type of move would signal to Pirates fans the team is a legit MLB team, alas, that’s not to be. Penguins hockey, followed by a long layoff, then Steelers football., PNC will remain a morgue this year.
Stop expecting the Pirates to compete this year. They are rebuilding. No free agent signing is gonna make them any better at this point. I kinda prefer empty PNC anyway because the people there actually care about baseball.
Hey….could’ve been Joey Rickard
Now only down the Cubs and Rockies to make a MLB move this offseason.
Great username. That is all.
No relation to the legendary Gil Heredia.
baseball-reference.com/players/h/heredgi01.shtml
Whoa, obscure player reference. I remember him with the A’s. I kept thinking he was going to turn a corner and become the A’s best pitcher.
Poor signing. Another losing year.
Pretty good for a 4th OF which we needed anyways.
Seems like a decent 4th OF, also will help if they decide to deal Marte. What were you hoping the Pirates were going to do? They’re certainly not going to outspend anyone for top end FA’s.
Its going to be a losing year no matter what. It’s a rebuild process.
But will this prevent the Bucs from resigning Lonnie Chisencalfs??????
Cherington means business. look out!
The Pirates ownership should be ashamed of themselves.
For what, signing a guy projected to be a bench player? Every team does that….Nothing set on trades yet. If Marte was gone and they were looking to directly replace him with Heredia,they you would have a complaint. This is a guy signed to be a 4th OF with MLB experience. That is what he is.
Yeah we have a lot to be disappointed with over the last four years as Pirates fans. Can’t shade every transaction as a bad one though.
Wasnt referring to this acquisition, was saying in general for the product they put on the field every year. They are pocketing resources they receive through revenue sharing instead of re-investing into player personnel. Plus for approving that Archer trade with the Rays that set them back about a decade. I have no problem with the Heredia deal.
Yes you are right. NH was phoning it in towards the end. I hope Cherrington is more creative on putting together a winning team given the tight purse strings.
Totally agree but some find issues with everything.
The Phillies should be ashamed for signing Harper and everyone else through trades. And guess what THEY SUCKED
Signing Harper rejuvenated a fan base and showed fans that they will do whatever it takes to win. They’ve sold more tickets and more merchandise after acquiring Harper than any other team has in a very long time after signing a free agent. That is not shameful at all. With the addition of a proven manager and a legitimate ace caliber SP in Zack Wheeler, to pair with Aaron Nola atop their rotation, I believe everyone in most baseball circles expect improvement from the Phillies. Not to mention they were ravaged by injuries last year including a complete decimation of their bullpen.
Nola is your Ace
Wheeler is not an Ace
Boooooooom
True statement. Blowing big money doesn’t always equal wins. That’s why they play the games instead of just calculating every equation they can make up then crowning the richest winner.
Absolutely, but not because of this signing.
Who are the Pittsburgh Pirates?
They are a Major League baseball team with uniforms and everything –Jake Taylor :)
Love the comment!!!! Great movie
Im a huge rays fan and actually almost feel bad for pirates fans the archer trade…… Almost
Don’t feel too bad. Your team plays in a warehouse and will probably be located in Montreal soon enough.
Solid fresh take capt original! I can only imagine how tough it must be to watch 2 stars and a top tier prospect be dealt for 2 years of archer…woof! I’d almost rather move to Canada than be subject to the torment of being a Pirates fan.
At least the Pirates have a fan base. They were one of the worst teams in the league this year, and yet they still had more fans attend games than the rays. When the Pirates were good in 2013-2015, their yearly attendance could have nearly doubled that of the Rays this year. They may be bad now. But at least Pirates’ fans still care. You can’t say the same about the Rays.
If the rays are here for 100 years and ranked 27th in attendance I wouldn’t exactly be celebrating…
Yes but you have to win a few championships before you can talk. Yes, our last championship is as old as my but still…
I think the Rays will win a championship too… After they become the Expos.
In a year where the team goes 69-93, nothing is worth celebrating. When the Pirates are good, their attendance ticks up. When the rays are good, their attendance still sits near the worst in the league, and it will stay there until they go to a city that actually supports them
Problem is that the Pirates should not have to rebuild. If they only had a respectable budget and put together a decent pitching staff and deeper outfield & catching depth over this past winter like they should have been doing, they would have no trouble contending.
It’s the media and fans of other teams that want the Pirates to rebuild, along with the casual Pirates fans who get all their information from the media and do not follow the team regularly, game-to-game.. The Pirates true fans who follow every game knows that their hitting is good enough, with a little tuning, to succeed already. Defensively, some better coaching can help them to improve. A better pitching philosophy will go a long ways towards the team’s success as well.
Just having a lower than average payroll of around 100 to 130 mil instead of an embarrassing budget below 70 million would have had the Pirates contending yearly, and would have changed everything over the past several years that they have floundered. The fans who follow them closely know this. The media knows it too, but they always toe the line because they know who butters their bread. Unfortunately the casual Pirates fan does not have knowledge of this.
We would have had a championship sometime after 2013 if they had been willing to spend modestly. The team as currently constructed is pretty far away, especially given our rotation and light hitting lineup.
I’ve been a die hard Bucs fan forever and I think a modest rebuild is necessary to re-establish a strong core.
I agree with Kermit, the time to spend was 7 years ago, This team is far away, especially without Taillon and because of the busted Archer trade (vazquez too). Another problem is the last regime never really wanted to blow it up, just hang around 500. “Meaningful baseball games in September” lmao. I’m ok with trading Marte for the right deal, and other pieces. This regime needs 3 to 4 years to have a decent chance at starting over.
I know the Rays have to maintain a paper thin payroll, but they couldn’t handle his $1.1M projected salary? Must have felt they could get better value elsewhere.
Don’t see this as much an upgrade over Pablo Reyes. Both could hit AAA pitching but not MLB pitching.
Heredia is a better OF and can play CF. We have lots of infield depth so Reyes is redundant.
Jays are still a good match for Marte. The lower level pieces are there for a Pittsburgh rebuild. Jays need a CF’der now.