Jan. 29: The Pirates formally announced their reunion with Frazier this morning.
Jan. 28: Adam Frazier is headed back to the Pirates. The McKinnis Sports client is reportedly in agreement with his old club on a one-year, $1.525MM contract. The team has yet to announce the signing.
Frazier, now 33 years old, had a strong six-year run with the Buccos to begin his career, slashing a combined .283/.346/.420 in 2232 plate appearances while posting quality overall defensive grades at both second base and in left field.
That stretch culminated with a huge .324/.388/.448 slash in the first half of the ’21 season, with Frazier logging a career-low 10.7% strikeout rate along the way. That resulted in an All-Star nod for Frazier and helped ramp up trade interest while the Pirates operated as deadline sellers. The Padres wound up acquiring Frazier, who was controllable through the 2022 season, in exchange for outfielder Jack Suwinski, utilityman Tucupita Marcano and righty Michell Miliano.
Things didn’t pan out for Frazier in San Diego, however, and he’s never gotten his bat back on track. While he hit for a decent average down the stretch with the Friars, his walk rate and already limited power output tumbled. In 211 plate appearances, he batted .267/.327/.335 — about 13% worse than league-average, by measure of wRC+. Rather than pay him a raise in arbitration that winter, the Padres traded him to the Mariners, where his offensive struggles continued.
In three and a half seasons since leaving the Pirates, Frazier has suited up for the Padres, Mariners, Orioles and Royals. That covers a span of 1562 plate appearances, during which Frazier sports a tepid .236/.301/.336 batting line (82 wRC+). His 2024 season in Kansas City was the worst of his career; he batted only .202/.282/.294 in 294 plate appearances with the Royals last year and fanned in a career-worst 20.1% of his plate appearances.
Though his offense has continued to flounder, Frazier posted solid defensive grades at second base and in the outfield corners last year. His strikeout rate may have been a career-high but was still a couple percentage points lower than league-average, while his 7.5% walk rate was within one percentage point of average. The Pirates have not only a righty-heavy bench mix but more broadly a roster and lineup that skews right-handed. Oneil Cruz, Spencer Horwitz and switch-hitting Bryan Reynolds are the only lefty bats assured of frequent playing time in Pittsburgh. Frazier will give the Pirates a familiar face and a contact-oriented left-handed bat to slot into the bench group.
With Pittsburgh still facing uncertainty at both second base and in right field, Frazier is a cheap backup plan at either spot. He’s not going to be Plan A for the Pirates at either position, but he can step in at second base if a group of infielders including Nick Yorke, Nick Gonzales, Jared Triolo and Liover Peguero struggle and force versatile Isiah Kiner-Falefa into regular work at shortstop. Reynolds is locked into one outfield corner, but the other options on the 40-man roster right now include Suwinski (who struggled immensely in 2024), Billy Cook and out-of-options Joshua Palacios.
Frazier is the latest in a characteristically budget-friendly string of free agent signings for the Pirates. Pittsburgh has brought franchise icon Andrew McCutchen back on another one-year, $5MM contract — his third straight $5MM deal with the Bucs — which stands as their largest financial expenditure of the winter. The Pirates have also added lefties Caleb Ferguson ($3MM) and Tim Mayza ($1.15MM) on one-year deals, although Mayza’s deal was just agreed to yesterday and has yet to be formally announced by the team. RosterResource currently projects an $80.5MM payroll, including Frazier and Mayza, with about $104MM of CBT obligations. The Pirates have long been rumored to be seeking a corner outfield upgrade but have yet to bring in any outside help to fill that glaring need.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the Pirates were in agreement with Frazier on a major league deal. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com had the $1.525MM salary.
Why?
So when he’s sent down to AAA they can say DOWN GOES FRAZIER
That’s how frasier series should’ve ended but instead they wheel him back as a grandpa
Budget friendly, a longer way to say cheap
No one can say the Bucs aren’t active; they are just extremely, extremely cheap
But they havent addressed any real needs outside of Horwitz at 1B..
Should get a good mix of competition for the pen, but one really sticks out as an intriguing high-leverage option, and that includes Bednar who has a lot to prove before anyone can get excited about the idea of him being penciled in at closer.
RF still leaves a lot to be desired. Not sure how much a Randy Grichuk or Adam Duvall moves the needle, compared to in-house options like Henry Davis, Jack Suwinski and Josh Polacios , but would be safer bets I guess (shrug)
Jack will be given the chance of being the right fielder from everything I have read
I have no doubt that Jack or Josh will be the LH component of the platoon.
If they’re serious they’ll add a RH component instead of giving Davis the driver seat
they are counting on the new hitting coach to straighten Jack’s power swing
I don’t mind Jack getting 1 more shot as the starting RF, but I would give Cook at bats before Josh P.
I keep forgetting about Cook
Ya that’s likely the platoon in RF then
Cook/Suwinski driver seat
Davis/Polacios insurance
Not exciting , but should be a good camp battle
Back off of 3 straight years of playoff experience with Seattle, Baltimore, and Kansas City. I think that was part of the logic in bringing him back.
I believe Seattle had already benched or tossed him in the dumpster by the end of the season in ’22
Nope
not justifying this move in any way, but frazier did hit the go-ahead double in the mariners’ comeback win in the 2022 wc series against the jays from that very dumpster
For 8 million he should have hit lot more though.
Frazier had a huge hit in game 2 against blue jays in 2022 playoffs. His RBI double was the game winner
Nah, they just need a long man out of the pen now that Tellez is gone.
Sadly that playoff experience went like this:
2022 ALDS .071/.133/.071 in 15 PA’s
2023 ALDS 0-for-5 in 2 games
2024 ALWC (did not play)
2024 ALDS 1-for-3 in 1 game
Very Pirates move.
Pirates have no LHH infielders if Bae is. Ow an OF. I’m ok w Frazier on bench
And they still don’t. Frazier on bats lefty. He doesn’t actually hit. Frazier can only play 2b. Horowitz Endy can play 2b and much better hitting odds. Last time Frazier hit was in Pittsburgh so maybe someone has something.
Frazier has plenty of OF experience. In all 3 positions.
Not a outfielder. And all 3 positions ok
Adam has hit around league average most of his career. Yeah not great but really better than most of what we had last year lol 😉
Bucs should be trying to way overpay Alonso for a 1 year deal with player option. Like 1yr/40 or something stupid.
Or they could also just try competing, that would be cool.
It takes 2 to tango. No way that Alonso accepts a one year less than $30 mil which is almost half of the current payroll.
They could get both Grichuk and Rizzo for less than 1/2 of that while filling two needs.
I’m not sure even the Pirates should be desperate enough to sign Rizzo tbh.
Rizzo is probably Tellez 2.0. A signing after a bad year expecting a comeback.
There would be no point in signing Rizzo to anything more than a minor league deal to stash at Triple-a either. Spencer Horwitz is a decent 1B, and if they want a platoon option, then Rizzo doesn’t make sense either.
Turns 36 in August. Very nice career. But had trouble bouncing back from injury last year, and unknown if a true bounceback year is possible. Always a good fielder and over 300 career HRs. He could help someone but Rizzo seems a bad candidate for a team that needs to develop youth.
Goldschmidt is better than Alonso. At least close enough. 1 year 20m could have bribed him. Or over pay in a trade for Naylor Lowe.
You can’t give Alonso 40 or even 30 for 1 year. He’s just a big name not a big time player.
Horowitz should be better than Alonso vs RHP. Sign Canha who should be better vs LHP. That’s a near all star 1b. Pirates will go Reynolds though unfortunately.
alonso’s steamer projection for 2025 is 2.7 fwar. pirates 1b have 2.8 fwar *combined* from 2018-2024. on a one year deal it’s absolutely worth it. now if they were going to actually spend that money it would be better spent at ss and rf, but that’s a different conversation
2.7 is worth 40m? How much war did Horowitz have vs rhp and canha vs LHP? Why you talking 2018?
I thought being a Nats fan was frustrating. Are they actually considering Frazier as a starter?
How much of Frazier’s $1.525MM salary is deferred?
45 bucks
$45 sounds like the usual amount of a Nutting Stocking Stuffer! 😉
The Pirates aren’t allowed to defer because there is guarantee they will still be a major league franchise in 20 years.
Sweet Old Bob: I will gladly pay you Tuesday…”
Frazier has piled up 14.2 bWAR by just hanging around long enough. Not to mention $29 million.
He was probably my favorite Pirate player during his first go-round with the club, but now he is just was, not is.
I mean, maybe Matt Hague can work something. He works best with contact hitters, but that’s about all I can say about it. Frazier hasn’t been good since the Pirates traded him and at this point, Nick Yorke is probably a better option, maybe even Jared Triolo too.
Maybe this means they’ll look to trade one of the utility men like Triolo.
Good sign for the Pirates, Frazier had his best seasons in Pittsburgh, if he can rekindle his contact hitting and play a serviceable second base, Pirates will have filled a hole in their infield at the bargain price of 1.5M. Still a young player in the tail end of his prime.
Really needs to rekindle to be better than Gonzales who is just average.
I’ve always like Frazier, he has produced in the past, always feel like he is prime for another breakout season, but looks like he won’t have a firm commitment to ABs at 2nd or 3rd, always difficult in terms of getting momentum and keeping it rolling, which does make it unlikely that Frazier will put together a season like he did in 2021.
Nate McLouth had his best season as a Pirate too but when they eventually brought him back he was only a skeleton of the player he was in that one season
Bringing back has beens says they aren’t serious about being competitive
The annual dumpster diving has officially begun
RIGHTFIELDER PLEASE……Grichuk, Sanchez, Verdugo, Kjerstad, Ward
This guy is proof that war is a weird stat.
Why?
One reason is that he and Luis Arraez basically have the same WAR for their career despite Arraez winning 3 batting titles and Frazier being a one year wonder. I know defense plays into the numbers, but it shouldn’t play in THAT much. Offense will always be more important because offense wins games, defense only keeps you from losing games.
But IT IS valued THAT much. Case in point, Yankees’ defense (or lackthereof) in ’24 World Series.
Wouldn’t know about that didn’t watch the 24 World Series. It was like Hitler vs Mussolini in a fist fight. I didn’t want to see either one win.
Lol. Several Yankees players had mental defensive collapses on the field. These are things teams with very good defense don’t do on any stage. Both Judge and Cole were also involved in those few miscues.
Well, also keep in mind that Frazier also had nearly 1000 plate appearances before Arraez made his debut. Based on career WAR alone, Frazier averages 1.7 fWAR per 600 plate appearances, while Arraez averages about 2.3 per 600 plate appearances. Also, Frazier was a really good second baseman at his peak. He was a multi-time Gold Glove finalist, and was top 3 in both DRS and OAA at 2B from 2018 through 2021.
The prodigal son returns
Assuming he is utility guy who bats lefts and Yorke starts in AAA.
What utility. He can only play 2b. You can throw him in outfield but bat doesn’t come close to playable there.
WV
I assume Yorke is starting on Opening Day
As a Royals fan I’m ecstatic with this move.
D Price is to Nuttings liking but unless they traded Gonzales for a outfielder there’s no need for Frazier. Horowitz Endy can play 2b if you want a bat. Yorke if you want a mix of both. Alika Peguero if you want glove. Only good thing about Frazier is he bats left. His outfield defense never impressed. His bat certainly doesn’t play there. It’s a luxury that cost a 40 man spot for a team that is loaded with meh 2b options. Maybe they have the magically fix though.
I guess the Mets were unwilling to pay all but $1.5 million of Marte’s salary.
Another underwhelming signing.
I keep thinking it can’t get worse but it does.
I am an Adam F. fan but his best days are way behind him . Is Harrison coming back next?
Well at least it is not Van Meter.
What young player are we going to lose to make room for him in the lineup?
He is not going to be very much of an upgrade.
Panj-Inasmuch as Josh Van Meter retired last week we Pirates fans do not have him to kick around anymore.
I really do not understand this signing.Yorke is a young player who can play the same positions.
1 move I want to see is Grichuk. At best platoon with Jack. At worst every day.
2 Canha weak platoon 1b who can play OF.
3 Pillar another platoon late inning defense.
Just accept the fact the infield is weak. There’s no free agents to help. But you can drastically boost the outfield.
Also the Pirates way would be trade for Marte which would be fine. Or splurge on Ward.
splurge
haha
thanks for the laugh Dream
Mediocre good not great prospects are something the Pirates have enough of to splurge. Angels probably want quality over quantity and why he hasn’t been traded. But majority of trades no involving studs are quantity trades.
Getcher Dumpster Dive Special right here!
Grichuk would be my 1st choice but I don’t see it happening. Probably wants to be on a winner. I can see Pillar or Laureano.
A larger pile of cash gets it done. Players go wherever they can make the most $. Unfortunately Pirates don’t care about winning and other teams are interested. Verdugo is a clown and his hands are rotting off so no one should really want him. Welcome to Pittsburgh.
Definitely a low hanging fruit type of signing. If they specifically wanted a lefty bat that draws a walk and doesn’t strike out a ton they should’ve signed Verdugo.
*sigh*
Reds just signed Hays who is mainly an outfielder not a second baseman who occasionally plays the outfield.
Pirates are ruining baseball
no, the owner of the Pirates is ruining the franchise tradition
Pirates need something to get competitive, and I don’t see the signing of Frazier to be that.The pitching core of Jones, Skenes and Keller are on top of their game, so now is the time to take advantage of those 3 and build a team around them.
I agree. Especially before Skenes and Jones undergo TJS!
3 + 5 +1.1+ 1.25 =10.35 not very much at all for 4 free agents lol
Is Nutting getting tighter or is it my imagination?
it’s not your imagination
Payroll this season is less than last season
Adam has generally has an around average bat and has done so at every level until he left the pirates. He has always been a non-negative over all player. at this price the only reason to say no is because he would be blocking someone.
I think we’ll be mostly good on the infield, if OF options don’t pan out he can slot in and be a quality utility man…
Not a splash pickup but not really a bad move.
Pirate fans sure must love baseball as a game.
you would have to love football to root for a certain team for example
People who love baseball usually have a favorite team they root for
I am no longer shocked that logic needs to be explained
Paul- I sense that what Goose is implying is that Pirate fans must love the game itself and not the owner nor management of teams that have provided very few winning seasons since the original Bush presidential administration.
Bucco fan for life here but I bet if someone did the research in this very website when the pirates traded him a few years ago the “fans”probably were bit+*ching and now that they resigned him they are mad at the acquisition. Sums up the pirates fans.
But it kinda makes sense: Fans didn’t appreciate giving up a guy who was performing well at the time. And they don’t appreciate getting him back after he’s spent his prime years declining into a noticeably worse player.
I don’t mind the Frazier but this team needs a power hitting right fielder and he isn’t the answer
sell high – buy low.
If he has another great half season they can trade him again for more prospects.
Jose-I do not recall if you were correct but the 2021 Pirates were so bad that the fans probably understood that they were getting several young players in return who could help in the future.
They may have questioned the players in return but probably not the reason for the trade.
He was not signed to a long term contract so they may very well have lost him soon anyway.
He was a dog in San Diego. Another “no chemistry” move by the Padres F.O.
At least he wasn’t banned from baseball for gambling like Marcano…
Mariners Legend Adam Frazier goes to the Pirates. Solid signing.
WHEN DOES IT STOP? THE PIRATES ARE RUINING BASEBALL