10:50 am: Pittsburgh has confirmed the Suwinski DFA. Ozuna will take his spot on the 40-man roster. The club has a week to either find a trade partner for Suwinski or try to pass him through waivers.
9:28 am: The Pirates are designating outfielder Jack Suwinski for assignment, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The 27-year-old has spent parts of the last four big-league seasons with the club.
As Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette pointed out this morning, the Pirates need to clear a 40-man roster spot for the addition of Marcell Ozuna. The new DH was practicing with the team, while Suwinski was not with the rest of the position players during today’s Spring Training activities.
Suwinski broke camp with the team last season, but hit just .128 over the first three weeks of the campaign. He found himself back in Triple-A before the end of April. Suwinski was up and down between the two levels multiple times. He missed a couple of weeks with a groin strain near the end of the season, but did close the year in the big leagues. Suwinski slashed .147/.281/.253 in 59 games with the Pirates.
Pittsburgh promoted Suwinski to the MLB squad shortly into the 2022 season, and the lefty injected big power into the lineup. The outfielder wrapped up his first year in the bigs with 19 home runs in 372 plate appearances. It came with a bloated 30.6% strikeout rate, though Suwinski also walked at a double-digit clip. The 2023 campaign was Suwinski’s first look as a full-time player. He appeared in 144 games as the club’s primary center fielder. Suwinski racked up 26 home runs and 13 steals, but his strikeout rate crept over 32%.
Suwinski slipped into a part-time role in 2024. He hit .182 while splitting time between all three outfield spots. He came into last season without a defined role following Oneil Cruz‘s transition to the outfield. Suwinski smashed Triple-A pitching to the tune of a 150 wRC+, but never found his footing at the big-league level this past year.
The power/speed combo could lead a team to take a flyer on Suwinski. He still barreled the ball at a near-12% rate in 2025. Suwinski is ill-suited for center field (-16 Defensive Runs Saved for his career), though he can be a net-neutral defender in the corners.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
I know Pirates fans are frustrated by him but I could see him getting picked up by a team like the White Sox. Hope he clears waivers cause he would be good to have in AAA.
Dude just couldn’t make the adjustment like so many others.
actually then hitting coach Andy Haines messed with the Jack’s swing trying to make him more of a contact hitter than a power hitter
232 .353 .503 .856
With his 2023 season someone should pick him up if they have a spot even if it’s just to try to get him to minors. Might have lost some speed but the hitting tools are still there.
You are exactly right man3. When he had the 26 hrs he was going to be a very good player. But Haines and the moron Shelton tried to alter his swing. Turns out they messed with the kid and he couldn’t adapt.
Im tired of morons trying ty o mess with a player’s mechanics when they don’t need altered.
Dam glad the two stooges of Haines and Shelton are gone.
He’s a local Chicago kid, would be a fun homecoming
If I were the White Sox, I’d sign anybody and everybody with a chance, bring them to camp to fight for a job in hopes of cobbling together a decent veteran roster while waiting for those kids in A+/AA who almost won the Carolina League a year ago to get through the system.
It’s a new dawn,
It’s a new day,
It’s a new life for me,
And I’m feeling good.
Jason Kendall was a great hitter, not just for a catcher.
He was a good hitter, not sure id bandy about “great”.
If he was great he would be in the HOF.
I know it went bad but I can blame the Bucs to hard here, he did flash some plus potential his first few years.
From a guy who can’t hit to a guy who loves to hit women. Great move.
Forgive my ignorance, is this an Ozuna thing? I genuinely didn’t hear about this
Since 2024 there have been 4 players suspended for DV reasons to play a game in MLB, all of them have played for the Pirates
Moneyball can take many forms.
He’s a good bat. And we aren’t heading to a church social.
This is another mistake by Cherington.
Is Billy Cook really better?
I did look at Jack’s stats from last year and they really were awful.
But I am not so sure that Cherington did not have his hand in the hitting coaching of these guys.
He may be hoping that no one will want the contract but I think that there are two or three teams who think that he could be helpful with a new start.
Unless I’m wrong, local TV reports from Bradenton today had him taking ground balls at 3rd with Triolo.
@Patriot12992 Here’s an MLB article about Ozuna’s DV charges: mlb.com/news/marcell-ozuna-addresses-2021-arrest-s…
Guy got a sweetheart deal from the DA and the charges were dropped after he took some classes. Same thing with his DUI – paid a fine and nothing really happened.
Fakes news according to article and body cam footage. He doesn’t hit women he strangles them. And there’s no evidence he loves it.
His best season was 2023, he hit 26 bombs and had a 793 OPS. Too bad he couldn’t build on a pretty nice season.
Just another waste of money by BC. Should have never been signed to begin with.
He barely cost anything. He had some potential and showed signs of it. It just didn’t work out
This is why they signed him, to try and sneak him through waivers and have a lefty of they can call up in case. If someone claims him, not the end of the world. Will they want to pay him 1m?
100 percent right nobody is taking on the contract and he is definitely not electing free agency he will end up at Indy getting paid nicely hopefully getting out of this funk
His contract is nothing. Teams spend 200 300 400 500 million. What’s 1 million
40 man is issue. Do you have someone you are willing to dfa.
Billy Cook.
And who is Ryan Harbin anyway?
And your man En Valdez may be able to hit the ball hard but where is he going to play and does he even have any options left or are they going to have to go through this with him at the end of ST?
Its over fellas. Finally.
Pirates fans long national nightmare is over.
Not until someone claims him. Otherwise he’ll be back in AAA until there’s an injury in PIT and he’s right back on the major league roster. The Guardians’ version of him was Will Brennan who thankfully landed in SF preventing CLE from getting right back into that losing cycle of eventually calling him up again.
I still think Andy Haines ruined him, tried to make him hit for more contact. On paper, that sounds like a good idea, but he sacrified it for chasing outside the zone more often. You can’t do that with a three-true-outcomes type hitter. Haines would have tried to make Luis Arraez hit 15-20 home runs if the Pirates had him.
Oh well, good luck, Jack. He seems like a good guy, and maybe with the right hitting coach, he can at least become a solid platoon bat.
And hit 25 home runs again.
Shame but predictable. Hopefully someone picks him up and is able to turn him back around.
Nobody is picking up that contract he will still be a Pirate
What are you talking about?? Last I checked he was still arb eligible?
Might want to check in 2026 instead of 2025 before commenting. Not surprised though coming from the guy who traded the cy young winner for a quad a 2b.
You won’t be getting an invite to Fenway anytime soon, Dream
Already burned that bridge.
mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/braves-red-sox-trade-ch…
Although they actually believed the prospect ranking sites and thought they just got a top 100 SS so they probably haven’t caught on to my new name yet.
he’s out of options
Roster spring cleaning
After all the fan suggestions of including him in a trade for Paredes, it turns out he has no value to the Pirates at all, unless he’s non roster depth.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Astros pick him up, honestly. He’s cheap, has power, and not a terrible (but not a great) fielder.
Him, Bart, and Termar or even one of our relief arms would have been a pretty good package for Paredes as much as Astros fans seemed to hate it. But I can understand the pushback because it’s definitely not splashy.
correction
he has power potential but has lost it for the past 2 years
And batting below the Mendoza line doesn’t exactly help either
I disagree–the power is still there. His bat speed is still near the upper quarter in the league, barrel % is still pretty good. His chase percentage is the thing that’s killed him. He still has a ton of power, he just swings at things he shouldn’t.
Even with that, though, if you look at his swings from last year he would have had 7 HRs in Houston instead of his piddly three. He definitely has power. A different approach at the plate would unlock it more.
His chase percentage is fantastic. One of the few things that he has and it’s kept him in baseball.
yeah sorry. meant whiff.
Yes,even Mendoza had a higher batting average.
I agree with BTC though.I think that this is on the Pirates because he had not one but two good years before they got their braintrust into making “improvements”.
I dunno. Reason astros would trade Paredes is because their in infield is full. TJ doesn’t look like a SS. He increased arm strength and Pirates are looking at him for 3b. Correa probably better suited for 3b than SS at this stage. If they liked Altuve is outfield they could just use parades at 2b. Unless they think TJ can play outfield they seem to have same problem.
I think TJ will be similar as good as Paredes and he is near mlb ready so BTV is almost useless imo. Good to keep fans from Andujar Frazier proposals is about it. 2 years of Paredes is drastically more valuable than 6 or 7 of TJ? Really. Or 2 years of a weak platoon catcher who can’t catch is almost as valuable? Maybe they are right in the end but TJ is young with potential and that has value now.
I never saw anyone mention him and truthfully, would the Astros have been that stupid? Then again, some were suggesting Joey Bart and a prospect. Guess it comes down to wishful thinking
Washed- The Astros are looking for a left hand hitting outfielder and I think that that would have been the reason that Jack was mentioned.
I would love to have Parades for Bart and Harrington but including Barco or Johnson would be just plain stupid.
Agree 100%.
I just don’t believe the Astros are this stupid unless they’re really looking to dump salary
I know BTV is a questionable source of rating on here but a trade of Paredes (13.5) for Bart (6.5), Suwinski (-.4), and Termar (8.3) would have been in the Astors favor. I know Suwinski is seen as a negative here but it’ll be interesting to see if they take a flyer on him now that he’s been DFAed.
Suwinski was awarded a $1:5 million contract through arbitration this past winter
I honestly don’t know how BTV calculates a person’s trade value. I know their contract has something to do with it but his -.4 value would be influenced by things other than that I’m sure.
Either way, I don’t put too much stock in BTV. They have Bryan Reynolds listed at something like -24.
Suwinski wasn’t awarded 1.5 million. Isn’t making 1.5 never went through arbitration. Was done in fall not winter.
And he didn’t sign for $1.5, he signed for $1.25M.
that’s still 1.25 million too much
Some of these predictive models are just plain ridiculous.
Parades has two years before free agency.Termarr has seven.
If someone is a negative they should not even be on a AAA roster.
Guy would be a Hall of Famer if he got to play the Giants everyday. Hit 3 bombs including a walk off against them in a 2022 game and then hit 2 more in a game at Oracle in 2023.
He looked like he figured things back out at AAA last season, feel like he could do well with a change of scenery to another club. Probably a quad A guy but I think he could be a useful contributor still
Especially if he can play CF reasonably well. (Er, can he play CF reasonably well?)
According to the article, he can’t.
Used to. Data says he lost some speed. Probably still passable get by out there.
This makes the roster better. $1.5M is a small price for this improvement.
I believe that if he gets through waivers and accepts the demotion that he gets to still get paid or atleast a portion of it. Like a third of it.
1.25 and he gets paid even if he is sitting at home. Every dollar of it.
At last! Now they can make a claim to be actually competing for a playoff spot. As long as Swingandamisski was on the roster the Pirates would’ve remained a laughing stock.
Glad he is out. Wish him luck. Glad to see the OF has some more depth to where we do not need him.
Cruz and Reynolds holding 2/3 of the field with O’Hearn likely playing the other 1/3 to give Horwitz 1B and Lowe 2B. You still have unexpected fillers that can give you depth with Endy Rodriguez, Nick Yorke, and even Henry Davis.
I expect we see a move sending Joey Bart away soon though.
In many ways, he’s the poster child for the failure of the Pirates player development department. Like so many other guys, he came up and whatever he’d shown as potential couldn’t translate at this level. While so many like him came up and were quickly back on the shuttle to Indy, never to be seen again, his propensity to hit homers kept him in a Pirates uniform
I dunno. Very hard to right a player at this level when he’s embraced so many kinks in his play, especially at the plate. And let’s face it, it’s not like the Pirates had some form of Charley Lau doing the instruction
Washed- Charley Lau is unknown to almost all of these posters.
Except old guys like you and me.
Funny thing is that he was a poor hitting catcher.
But one of the best hitting coaches in baseball.
If Mendoza would have had him there would not have been a line named after him!
Yeah, and that’s a shame. I remember listening to some of his thoughts on hitting and those of Ted Williams. Sadly, they never made an impact in my hitting either
Ted Williams used to watch his swing in the full length mirror over and over again.
I was watching some old clips and was surprised to see how some of the relatively good hitters did not have smooth swings even into the 1960’s.
But Williams was probably the best pure hitter ever.
It was a shame that he lost four years to WWII and the Korean War.
They don’t make guys like that anymore.
Suwinski better outfield option than Yorke Davis Gonzales. If he would clear waivers he would likely be first one up as injury replacement.
I mean that isn’t saying much being better than three guys who don’t typically play OF lol.
There should be no need for him of he clears. OHearn, Reynolds, and Cruz are your starting OF. Mangum is your 4th, and then guys you already have on the active roster are your next ups, and even if they need someone those major league at bats should go to The Password.
How many outfielders they use last year? Password may be good may be Suwinski 2.0 Any injury to Lowe Horwitz Ozuna and ohearn is no longer a outfielder. I’m hoping we haven’t seen the last of Jack. Hope no other team has a spot for him.
Would need a long list of issues to happen before we got to a need for Jack.
I hope he does well elsewhere.
1 injury is all that needs to happen. Good chance he does well elsewhere. Could also do well here still.
I don’t think Jack would hurt them defensively.
I get why you’d have him here if there was a slot. But that’s a big if
I’m fine with dfa. Just would prefer he doesn’t get claimed or traded. He can still be useful or at very least AAA depth.
Real teams are signing veterans like Canha Tauchman as minor league depth. Would much prefer that. So be nice to at least settle for Suwinski. He can play a solid outfiel. Has power somewhere in him. Bats left. Can take a walk. No Tauchman but it’s something.
Well the Mets signed Tauchman to a minor league contract. So much for that idea
Kind of expect him to move on and land somewhere where he figures it out. Though also possible that with the extra salary, he slips through and goes back to Indy. When he came up he definitely looked like a real hitter at the plate. Last year looked like he was guessing most of the time, pretty much lost. Not quite Henry Davis level where he couldn’t hit anything high, but just confused. Still think a good hitter is in there, but the Pirates won’t be unlocking that.
Don’t feel to bad for him he did get a guaranteed contract in November which makes it unlikely another team puts in a claim
The Pirates are not a good baseball team
They have one of the best Aces (if not the best) in the game, not much else.
Finished fourth or fifth for 9 consecutive years and don’t look like they have the current talent or pipeline to contend in the Skenes window
Have to wonder if the front office has enough talent to figure out how to get enough talent on the field
Apparently you know nothing about the depths of the pitching staff beyond Skenes, Sunday
But it’s not surprising, trolls often show their true colors when it comes to talking about the Pirates
I’m a little lost. Maybe he’s been asleep this off season. Maybe too much lasagna has clouded his views.
I haven’t had this much optimism in years and it’s not only thanks to Skenes but talented young pitchers on this staff and the guys they’ve brought in this off season. Maybe we’ll have more to look forward to this season other than pierogi races
I’m not a troll,
Keller is a 29 yr old mid rotation arm who is beginning to show regression
Chandler is only 22, young for AAA last year, but he put up mediocre numbers despite his arsenal because he needs to improve his command. Until he proves otherwise he is a mid rotation arm
Ashcraft is a 26 year old with all of 69 major league innings under his belt, minors numbers make him look like a back end starter
Urquidy, who knows how he rebounds
Hernandez, Dotel, Curtis, Harrington etc just like many other prospects, maybe they pan out maybe they don’t.
On the field, hard not to love Konnor Griffin’s potential, but reality check here:
Davis and Bart are ok at best
Horwitz would not start at 1st on 29 other clubs
Lowe is solid
Gonzales is a utility guy not a starting SS
Triolo is a utility guy not a starting 3B
OHearn’s best is adequate at best
Cruz …..going from being on Elly de la Cruz lane onto Suwinski street
Reynolds he’s 30 and just finished putting up a career worst 99 OPS+
Again, not a troll, I stick with my assessment, not a good team, wasting Skenes window, and the front office talent has to be called into question
You’re entitled to your opinion but you must know that it’s not a widely held opinion. Most if not all of the league is looking at the Pirates as a potential playoff contender and betting markets are increasingly showing them as a sleeper playoff team as well.
Horwitz had the 14th best WAR among all 1B last year all while having 100 fewer plate appearances than all except Aranda from the Rays. Your assessment of him is just objectively wrong.
O’Hearn’s best, has been shown at least last year, to be an all star. So, also don’t understand how this is “adequate.”
Cruz hit 20 HRs in his worst year. Suwinski hit 20 HRs in his best year. His floor is Suwinski’s ceiling.
Reynolds first year of having a 99 OPS+ (which is league average) was last year. The four years before that, his lowest was 111. So, by your logic Dansby Swanson who put up a 98 OPS+ in his age 30 season and Jorge Polanco who 96 OPS+ in his age 30 season are both bad players?
No Pirates fan is saying that Bart is a superstar, but they will say that Triolo is underrated and upgrading to a guy like Paredes may not be much of an upgrade because they both have the same bWAR.
This is just objectively a good team. Not Dodgers good. But may be on par with the Brewers and likely better than the Reds, despite all of the Reds fans not thinking so.
All fair points Sandlot, hundred percent my opinions could be wrong. I don’t mind being told I’m wrong, but took exception to being called a troll & asleep for that matter. Not too sure why some decide insults are better than debate. Thanks for your insights on the current Pirates, hope you are right
Totally understandable–fans know their teams most intimately (and often have inflated perspectives haha) and typically know only surface level stuff on others.
And all of this could easily go south with an injury or two: see Braves 2025. Knock on wood.
Reds have Francona. All things equal, this one is for the Reds.
I love Francona. He’s a Pittsburgh guy. But I also love Don Kelly and would bet on him winning manager of the year.
First off, humor.
Secondly, you’re talking to long suffering Pirates fans. After a nice off season, what would you expect from us? We finally have a little hope and you drop by to pee down our legs. Nice touch
I don’t think any Pirates fan thinks the team is gonna compete for a championship but if this team does make the playoffs then I’ll be interested to see if this pitching staff is as dangerous in a short series as it might be
Thanks for your insights. They mean nothing.
Nor do mine.
But coming aboard with such a bloated take that’s bound to draw fire and then complaining about blowback is rather humorous.
Sell it to someone else
Lasagna is just looking at numbers that are useless in player evaluation.
Almost every team in baseball was calling on 1 or all of Chandler Ashcraft Keller Barco. 2 were so desperate for controllable pitching they settled for Oviedo Burrows.
Hello AI GM, the best study I have seen regarding which numbers are most important to Wins is at the link below. Maybe those kids who put the study together are wrong. Maybe the numbers I look at are useless. Could be. If you are privy to a better tool to decide which stats are most important, please tell. I will also admit that I also buck the stat trend and use my eyes at times as well. Balance is good
samford.edu/sports-analytics/fans/2022/MLB-Winning…
“Keller is a 29” irrelevant
“Chandler is only 22, young for AAA last year, but he put up mediocre numbers despite his arsenal” irrelevant irrelevant irrelevant.
“he needs to improve his command” 1.1 bb per 9 you won’t settle for anything less than perfection eh
“Ashcraft is a 26 year old with all of 69 major league innings under his belt, minors numbers make him look like a back end starter” irrelevant irrelevant irrelevant and not true
“Davis and Bart are ok at best” Bart has like a 900 ops with Pirates so he’s been great. Pitchers like working with Davis. Above average defense. Bat still being developed.
“Horwitz would not start at 1st on 29 other clubs” Correct. His bat is good and defense no that bad that he would start at 2b for some of them instead of 1b.
“OHearn’s best” Best is a stretch but well above average even good I will give you.
“Triolo is a utility guy not a starting 3B” If you are fine with playing him everywhere why not his best position where he is a gold glove level defender?
“Cruz …..going from being on Elly de la Cruz lane onto Suwinski street
Reynolds he’s 30 and just finished putting up a career worst 99 OPS+” Or they just mentally checked out last year. My projections have them being better.
“If you are privy to a better tool to decide which stats are most important, please tell.” Just randomly pick anyone. The odds of you doing worse than you did are incredibly low. Think on why that is and what is actually useful. Hint it’s not age.
Thanks AI GM, you certainly are passionate and thorough. Hope the Pirates are as good as you think.
I only need them to be better than 74 wins. But think they are best they been since the 1970s at least. Would say ever but there is free agency now.
Sunday- Most trolls are negative nabobs.
You are looking at the worst case scenario.
That is negative.
They had 19 shutouts last year.
They just have signed or traded for five bona fide ML hitters.
Horowitz had a 900 OPS the last third of the season after being injured the first third.
Keller has been remarkably consistent and 29 is in the peak years.
You may think that you are not a troll,but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it is a duck.
AI-Maybe if you use your contacts to get in touch with the Astros’ GM you can sell him just on Bart for Parades with that 900 OPS.
AI-The Pirates averaged over 93 wins over the 2013-2015 period which was second best in the ML’s.
The team that they have now if they win 85 games which is probably the ceiling is not nearly as good as that team was.
Bart for Paredes should sell itself!
not nearly as good as that team was
What world series they win? Play in? They even win a playoff series? At least won a division right?
Wow 3 whole years 3 whole wild cards. This team should fare better the next 10 years. At the very least it’s built for more than a 3 year window.
Good luck with that.
Pirates fans are a little more skeptical of your boy Cherington.
One half season does not make a career.
A little salty.
Seems like a no brainer for the White Sox to take a flyer on the home town kid. Jack is a high quality person and Getz is trying to collect those types, when talent is equal. Hope he finds his power stroke wherever he goes.
Jack grew up as a White Sox fan.
Wouldn’t be the first guy to go on and have a decent MLB career after getting DFA’d. Ryan O’Hearn and Max Muncy are just a couple guys who have gone from trash to treasure.
Best wishes on future success Jack. Maybe even with the Pirates?
I hope he does well elsewhere. Could see the rays taking him and turning him into a decent slugger, but that is just a trope at this point.
I am just glad that Ohearn, Magnum, and Password are on the team now and put us in position to designate him for assignment.
I remember back in 2024, when Haines was apparently trying to fix him – he looked totally lost at the plate, like someone that never swung a bat before. Looked better last year, was hoping for a rebound this year. Kind of hoping he passes waivers and stays with the Bucs.
Lots of pirate fans might be happy but I remember him as a constant highlight reel in center field the start of the 2023 season. Even a 1.2 war his rookie season hitting only .202. Seems though he would need to be a regular to contribute more effectively
I’m never happy when a young guy works hard all his life and gets to the pinnacle, only to face failure. I root for athletes who persevere and overcome
You’re right about Suwinski and his beginnings here. But I think they gave him a helluva lot of rope to show what he could do. I’m sorry he couldn’t right himself
Why does Ron Tingley have a photo of Don Mossi on his post?
A personal hero. I wanted Bluto Blutarsky for mine but couldn’t figure it out
I always wondered whether Bluto was trying to steal Olive Oyl from Popeye.
I guess that we will never know.
Wrong Bluto. This Bluto was more into Mandy Pepperidge And finally did steal her
It is tough to maintain a 0:0 gpa and still remain in college.
6 years of college down the tubes.
But, was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? 🤣
I could see the Guardians taking a flier on Suwinski just to show fans that they are still operating…
Pirates outfield defense is going to look like Major League the movie… not Major League Baseball lol.
They’ll be just fine. All their outfielders are better than commenters online think they are.
That is why they have Mangum to come in for defense every game that they are winning.
And every Pirate fan has gotten tired of them losing 1-0 and 2-1 games.
So what if they lose 7-6 games now?
As a Pittsburgher, it seemed like he had a million chances and would hit .200 with potential home runs kinda like Rob Deer did in my childhood. He just never could sustain Deer’s productivity which is funny to me. And that’s not saying much.
Deer was one of the early true three outcome players
He did not run like a deer in the outfield.
Something happened to Jack and I am not sure what it was but it seems to be in the Pirates’ management blood to screw up hitters.
Henry Davis and Bryan Reynolds would like to chime in
He skipped 3a due to injuries on the big club. Was down since. He never adjusted once big league pitchers adjusted to him.