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Giants Hire Frank Anderson To Coaching Staff

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Frank Anderson is leaving the University of Tennessee’s coaching staff for an unspecified role on the Giants’ coaching staff, according to Baseball America’s Jacob Rudner.  Anderson had been working as the Volunteers’ pitching coach since 2017, and was acting as the interim head coach after Tony Vitello left the team to become the Giants’ new manager last month.

Now, the 66-year-old Anderson will join Vitello in San Francisco, looking to continue the success the duo shared in Tennessee.  This will be Anderson’s first coaching job in the majors, but he isn’t exactly a stranger to the Show, as his son Brett Anderson pitched 13 MLB seasons from 2008-21.

Reports emerged earlier this week that Justin Meccage will be the Giants’ new pitching coach, so Anderson could be taking on an assistant pitching coach job or perhaps could be moving into the bullpen coach vacancy.  There has been plenty of turnover on the coaching staff with Vitello coming in, and the new hires have included Meccage, hitting coach Hunter Mense, Jayce Tingler in an unspecified role, and now Anderson.

Like Vitello, Anderson brings a wealth of experience from the collegiate ranks, as Rudner writes that “Anderson is regarded as one of the premier pitching developers in college baseball.”  Anderson has over four decades of experience as an assistant and head coach in college ball, including nine seasons as Oklahoma State’s head coach from 2003-2012.

Orioles’ Mike Elias On Rodriguez/Ward Trade, Pitching Search, Non-Tender Decisions

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Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias held a video conference with reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com) on Friday to discuss both the team’s decisions at the non-tender deadline and several other topics, most notably the major one-for-one swap earlier this week that sent Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels in exchange for Taylor Ward.

The trade represented something of a long-term goal for the front office, as Elias said Ward is “somebody that we’ve been chasing for at least for a couple years, just because of the profile, the big right-handed power.”  Adding Ward brought more balance to a Baltimore lineup that was pretty heavy in left-handed bats, and finally making the move to obtain him now was related to both the Orioles’ needs and broader market conditions.  “I wasn’t confident where else somebody like him would come from on the free agent and trade market right now that has the sort of bat that we think he has and what he did last year,” Elias said.

With this perceived scarcity in mind, the Orioles were ultimately willing to move Rodriguez, which counted as a surprise on many levels.  Injuries have kept G-Rod off a big league mound since July 31, 2024, yet it wasn’t long ago that the former top prospect was viewed as a building block of the Orioles’ rotation.  Rodriguez also isn’t slated for free agency until after the 2029 season, whereas Ward is controlled through just the 2026 season.

Elias cited Ward as a potential qualifying offer candidate heading into free agency, “so that could change that equation a little bit” in terms of “the mismatch in the amount of potential team control.”  But in general, the O’s were ultimately willing to take the risk of moving Rodriguez in order to pry Ward away from Los Angeles.

“It’s uncomfortable to make trades, usually.  It’s hard to line up, and you’re going to give something up,” Elias said.  “That is always going to be difficult and interesting….Grayson’s a great kid.  We loved bringing him up in this organization and rearing him, and he’s got a bright future.  And sometimes, trades are a part of baseball.”

Losing Rodriguez deepens Baltimore’s need for starting pitching, which Elias reiterated as a chief goal of the club’s offseason.  Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers, Dean Kremer, Tyler Wells, and Cade Povich now line up as the projected starting five, with Brandon Young and Chayce McDermott in the minors as the top depth options.  It’s a group that needed more experience and clear top-of-the-rotation upside even when Rodriguez was still in the fold, and Elias said again that his team is looking at many pitchers, “whether it’s top or front or top half of the rotation, all those buckets.  We’re trying, and there are guys out there and we are in pursuit of every one of them.”

With both the rotation and bullpen as needs, a reunion with swingman Albert Suarez could help on two fronts, and Elias said the Orioles were interested in a reunion even after non-tendering the right-hander yesterday.  “I don’t want to go into details about our decision-making as we approach these tender decisions, but we very much are fans of Albert and we’re very much hoping to continue talking to him, and made that clear to him and his group,” the PBO said.

Suarez is another pitcher looking to rebound from a lost 2025 season, as he tossed only 11 2/3 innings for the Orioles last year.  A right rotator cuff sidelined Suarez for most of the year, and he was also hit by a flexor tendon strain in his right forearm near the end of the season.  The flexor strain was said to be minor enough that surgery didn’t seem necessary, and Suarez was expected to resume a throwing program after a recovery period.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected that Suarez would receive a $900K salary in his first trip through the arbitration process, as Suarez’s earning potential was obviously dampened by his lack of time on the mound in 2025.  Despite that modest salary and the Orioles’ remaining years of control, the team still opted to part ways with Suarez.  It could be that the O’s think they can bring Suarez back at an even lower price tag, or the club may have some misgivings about Suarez’s health situation.

While Elias mentioned the Orioles’ wide-ranging search for pitching, he didn’t directly allude to the possibility of pivoting and now trading a bat for rotation help.  This seemed like a logical avenue for Baltimore to explore heading into the offseason, and the tactic perhaps makes even more sense in the wake of both the Ward trade and the fact that the O’s tendered a contract to Ryan Mountcastle.  Between Mountcastle’s projected $7.8MM arbitration salary, his disappointing 2025 numbers, and a first base picture that also includes Samuel Basallo and Coby Mayo, there was plenty of speculation that the Orioles would just part ways with Mountcastle entirely.

Instead, the O’s kept Mountcastle because “we think he’s a great hitter,” Elias stated, noting that Mountcastle’s production was impacted by a hamstring strain that kept him on the injured list for over two months.  Elias isn’t concerned over any potential roster surplus, as he again pointed to the many injury concerns that helped sink the Orioles’ 2025 season.

“As we lived through last year, you have to worry about depth, too.  This is something that will sort itself out.  I think the main thing is we don’t want to discard a good hitter if we don’t have to, and we want to keep our talent, and these guys are all really promising bats,” Elias said.

Another bat or two might yet join the mix, as Elias said “we are definitely still pursuing upgrades to the lineup.  But I think that Taylor’s presence really solidifies the outfield picture in a way that gives us more flexibility with hunting that next impact bat and where that person plays.”  In terms of specific positions, Elias said the team would like to have more center field depth, even with Colton Cowser and the newly-acquired Leody Taveras currently lined up up the middle.

NPB’s Hiroshima Carp Sign Freddy Tarnok, Re-Sign Elehuris Montero

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11:46AM: Tarnok will earn $1.5MM in guaranteed money, MLB Trade Rumors’ Steve Adams reports, with close to $500K in incentive bonuses attached to the contract.

10:12AM: The Hiroshima Carp have signed right-hander Freddy Tarnok and re-signed infielder Elehuris Montero to contracts for the 2026 season, the team announced.  The terms of Tarnok’s deal aren’t known, but Montero will receive $1.25MM (broken down as a $750K salary and $500K signing bonus) plus incentives.

Tarnok has appeared in 11 games over parts of three Major League seasons, with five of those games coming with the Marlins in 2025.  Signed to a minor league deal last offseason, Tarnok had his contract selected to the 40-man and active rosters in June, and he posted a 2.45 ERA over 7 1/3 innings amidst several options back and forth from Triple-A and the majors.  The righty struck out 35.7% of batters during his small sample size of MLB work, but also had a 14.3% walk rate.

To some extent, Tarnok’s increasingly shaky control and his ability to miss bats has been the story of his minor league career, which consists of stops in the farm systems of the Marlins, Phillies, A’s, and Braves.  Tarnok has a 4.08 ERA over 161 innings at the Triple-A level, starting 28 of those 65 games as he has been used more frequently as a reliever in recent years.

The move to Japan might well give Tarnok another chance to re-establish himself as a starting pitcher.  Tarnok is just two days away from celebrating his 27th birthday, so he’s plenty young enough to post some good numbers with the Carp and perhaps get himself back onto the radar for big league teams as early as next winter.  If nothing else, signing in NPB will land Tarnok some guaranteed money, whereas he would’ve very likely had to settle for another minor league deal from a Major League team.

Montero hit .228/.277/.387 over 739 plate appearances with the Rockies from 2022-24, and is perhaps best known as part of the trade package the Cardinals sent to Colorado for Nolan Arenado prior to the 2021 season.  Montero’s first season in Hiroshima saw the 27-year-old hit .255/.301/.391 with nine home runs over 396 PA as the Carp’s regular first baseman.  While not huge numbers for a first base bat, Montero seems to have done enough for the Carp to pursue a reunion.

Giants Re-Sign Osleivis Basabe

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The Giants have re-signed infielder Osleivis Basabe to a new minor league contract, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports.  Basabe spent 2025 in San Francisco’s organization and was outrighted off the team’s 40-man roster in June.  Since he wasn’t added back to the 40-man before the end of the season, Basabe became eligible for minor league free agency, but it wasn’t known if he chose to test the open market.

Acquired from the Rays in a trade last February, Basabe spent his entire season at Triple-A Sacramento, getting significant time at shortstop, second base, and third base.  Basabe hit .249/.309/.412 with 14 homers over 477 plate appearances, with that slash line more or less matching his career .266/.320/.398 mark over 1186 Triple-A PA.  Within the context of the Pacific Coast League, however, Basabe’s offensive production wasn’t much to speak of given the PCL’s notoriously hitter-friendly nature.

Basabe drew attention as a prospect during his time in Tampa’s Bay farm system, but his lack of consistent hitting above the Double-A level has stifled his progress.  The Rays gave Basabe a look at the MLB level in 2023, and his .218/.277/.310 slash line over 94 PA and 31 games remains his only big league experience.

Still only 25 years old, Basabe will now return to the same Triple-A role with the Giants in the hopes of another call-up to the majors.  Matt Chapman and Willy Adames have the left side of San Francisco’s infield locked down, with Casey Schmitt penciled into second base duty and Tyler Fitzgerald and Christian Koss on hand as other infield depth options.  There has also been speculation that the Giants might look to upgrade at second base this winter, which would push Basabe further down the depth chart.

Braves Sign Brewer Hicklen To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have signed outfielder Brewer Hicklen to a minor league contract, according to Aram Leighton of Just Baseball Media.  The deal presumably contains an invitation to Atlanta’s big league Spring Training camp.

Hicklen is entering his age-30 season, and he has appeared in 10 career Major League games spread out over three of the last four MLB seasons.  His most recent cup of coffee in the Show consisted of a single game with the Tigers in 2025, after Detroit acquired the outfielder from (appropriately enough) the Brewers right at the very start of the season.

The Tigers designated Hicklen for assignment and subsequently traded him to the Phillies in late July, and Philadelphia didn’t promote Hicklen up to their active roster before season’s end.  After electing minor league free agency, Hicklen has now landed in Atlanta.

Newly-acquired utilityman Mauricio Dubon will get some time in the Braves’ outfield, and Michael Siani and Eli White are the top backup outfield options slated for bench duty.  Further down the depth chart, however, the Braves don’t have any outfielders in their farm system with any big league experience, so even Hicklen’s modest 10-game resume could give him a leg up over the competition  He has a solid .240/.346/.464 slash line over 1731 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, though he batted only .221/.318/.403 in 393 PA with the Tigers’ and Phillies’ top affiliates in 2025.

Mets Release Frankie Montas, Select Nick Morabito

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November 19th: Montas has now been released, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

November 18th: The Mets announced that they have designated Frankie Montas for assignment, and the team has requested unconditional release waivers on the right-hander.  The transaction removes Montas from the 40-man roster, allowing the team to select the contract of outfield prospect Nick Morabito in advance of today’s Rule 5 deadline.  The Athletic’s Will Sammon reported on Morabito’s selection earlier today.  Reporter Michael Marino was the first to pass on the news that Montas would be designated for assignment, with SNY’s Andy Martino providing the later update that Montas was being released.

The DFA period is essentially irrelevant since no team will claim or make a trade offer for Montas, who is owed $17MM in 2026 and will miss all or most of the season while recovering from a torn UCL.  As such, today’s move closes the book on Montas’ Queens tenure after less than a year, as he signed his two-year, $34MM free agent deal with the Mets last December.

Montas ended up tossing just 38 2/3 innings over nine appearances in a Mets uniform.  Montas suffered a lat strain in Spring Training and didn’t make his Mets debut until June, and he then struggled to a 6.28 ERA and lost his rotation job.  Even worse injury news emerged in late August, as Montas underwent UCL surgery.  It wasn’t known if Montas had a Tommy John surgery or a brace procedure, but either way, 2026 is going to be another lost year for the veteran righty.

Unsurprisingly, Montas didn’t trigger the opt-out clause after the first year of his contract, and thus he remains on the Mets’ books for a $17MM salary in 2026.  Montas probably won’t land his next contract until next winter, and a minor league deal seems like the next step for a pitcher with such a shaky recent track record.  Beyond his disastrous 2025 season, Montas also appeared in just one game in 2023 due to shoulder surgery, stemming from shoulder issues that led to a rough end to his 2022 campaign.

He recovered to toss 150 2/3 innings of 4.84 ERA ball with the Reds and Brewers in 2024, which was enough to convince the Mets that Montas might be close to regaining his early-career form as a staple of the Athletics rotation.  Instead, the signing will go down as a total bust for David Stearns’ front office, and one of several ill-advised pitching moves that contributed to New York’s disappointing 83-win season.

Morabito was a second-round pick for the Mets in the 2022 draft, and his selection to the 40-man roster means that rival teams won’t be able to select the 22-year-old in December’s Rule 5 Draft.  Known for his excellent speed, Morabito has stolen 130 bases in 160 attempts during his pro career, including 49 swipes for Double-A Binghamton in 2025.  This was Morabito’s first time playing Double-A ball and he hit .273/.348/.385 with six homers and 27 doubles to go along with his impressive stolen-base total.

MLB Pipeline ranks Morabito 16th amongst all Mets prospects, and the scouting report notes that Morabito’s offensive potential is held back by his tendency to hit too many grounders.  His speed can turn some of those grounders into singles, of course, but “elevating on contact will be a big goal…if he is going to have a chance to be more than a speedy, high-contact fourth outfielder.”  Defensively, Morabito is seen as a decent outfielder who can handle all three positions, though his modest throwing arm probably makes right field his least-effective spot on the grass.

Shota Imanaga To Accept Cubs’ Qualifying Offer

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Shota Imanaga will be returning to the Cubs, as The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney reports that the left-hander has accepted the team’s one-year, $22.025MM qualifying offer.  The surprising decision means that Imanaga stays put after his time in Wrigleyville seemed to be over, following a series of declined contract options on the part of the Cubs and Imanaga himself.

The four-year, $53MM deal that Imanaga signed with Chicago in January 2024 guaranteed Imanaga $23MM over the first two seasons, and this offseason presented both sides with decisions.  The Cubs had to decide whether or not to exercise a three-year option on Imanaga’s services that would’ve paid him $57.75MM over the 2026-28 seasons, and the team decided to decline.  Imanaga then had a $15.25MM player option for just 2026 that he also declined, even though exercising that option would’ve then created a $42.5MM club option for the Cubs for next winter covering the 2027-28 seasons that (if declined) would’ve created a $15.25MM player option for Imanaga for 2027.

The Cubs issued Imanaga the qualifying offer to ensure some compensation if Imanaga signed elsewhere, yet as it turned out, Imanaga will indeed take a one-year pact to remain, with roughly $7MM added beyond the price of his player option.  He would’ve locked in at least $30.5MM for himself by exercising his player option and generating that other player option for next winter, so he is currently leaving $8.475MM on the table given how this rather complicated situation turned out.

A 2026 season more in line with Imanaga’s impressive 2024 rookie campaign will easily land a multi-year contract worth far more than $8.475MM next winter, even though the lefty turns 33 in September.  He’ll be able to re-enter next year’s free agent market without the QO compensation attached to his services.  This removes one obstacle for Imanaga in free agency next winter, but more consistency on the mound will be the deciding factor.

Imanaga posted a 3.73 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate, and an elite 4.6% walk rate over 144 2/3 innings for Chicago this season.  Apart from his great control and the solid bottom-line ERA, the rest of Imanaga’s peripherals were almost all well below the league average.  The problems included a lot of hard and high-impact contact, as only three pitchers allowed more home runs than Imanaga’s 31 big flies in 2025.

A hamstring strain cost Imanaga most of May and June, but he still managed a 2.40 ERA over his first 75 innings of the year before things started to turn in the second half.  Twenty of Imanaga’s 31 home runs allowed came during his last 69 2/3 innings of the season, resulting in a 5.17 ERA.  Things didn’t get any better in the playoffs, as the southpaw posted an 8.10 ERA and gave up three more homers in 6 2/3 frames of postseason work.

These issues with the long ball were also apparent in Imanaga’s 2024 season, if not to the same extreme level.  He also allowed less hard contact and had a solid 25.1% strikeout rate, while delivering a 2.91 ERA over 173 1/3 innings.  This excellent debut season earned Imanaga a fourth-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting, a fifth-place finish in Cy Young Award voting, and his first All-Star nod.

Given how well Imanaga was seemingly adjusting to the big leagues over his first season and a half, it seemed like a lock that the Cubs were going to exercise their options to keep Imanaga in the fold through 2028.  However, his rough finish to the season seemingly changed the Cubs’ mind about such a substantial commitment.

Likewise, Imanaga and his reps at Octagon could’ve been concerned over how the market would react to his homer-heavy final 69 2/3 innings.  MLB Trade Rumors ranked Imanaga 22nd on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents and projected him for a three-year, $45MM deal, but Imanaga and his reps at Octagon might have viewed the qualifying offer as an impediment to an acceptable contract.  If Imanaga was going to have to settle for a short-term “prove it” type of deal anyway, accepting the QO allows him to aim for a bounce-back season in a familiar environment, and for a bigger one-year average annual value.

Returning to the Cubs also allows Imanaga to play for a team that should again be playoff contenders.  Starting pitching should still continue to be a need for Chicago even with Imanaga back, but at least one box has now been checked off of the team’s rotation plans.  Imanaga joins Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Jameson Taillon, and Colin Rea in the projected starting five, with Justin Steele theoretically able to return from a UCL revision surgery relatively early in the 2026 campaign.  Javier Assad and Ben Brown are also on hand, but the Cubs will want to bolster this group with at least one more reliable starter, given how the team didn’t trust its depth (including Imanaga) during the postseason.

Inset photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski — Imagn Images

Red Sox Interested In Bo Bichette, Kyle Schwarber

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With holes to fill in the lineup, the Red Sox are exploring two of the bigger free agent bats on the market.  WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports that “the Red Sox have shown interest in” Bo Bichette, and MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports that the club has likewise “checked in on Kyle Schwarber.”

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s recently commented that Boston is looking to add extra pop to its lineup, and either player would certainly fit in this regard.  Schwarber is an elite power bat coming off a career year, hitting 56 homers and slashing .240/.365/.563 over 724 plate appearances for the Phillies.  Bichette rebounded from an injury-shortened down year in 2024 to hit .311/.357/.483 with 18 homers over 628 plate appearances for the Blue Jays this sesason.

The injury bug did bite again for Bichette, as a knee sprain kept Bichette sidelined for most of September and most of the Jays’ playoff run until he was able to return in the World Series, but he still did plenty to re-establish himself as one of the preeminent infield bats in the sport.  MLB Trade Rumors ranked Bichette second on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, and projected the shortstop to land an eight-year, $208MM contract.

Schwarber ranked ninth on the list with a five-year, $135MM projection.  Schwarber is entering his age-33 season and is basically a full-time designated hitter, but while teams have traditionally been wary of committing major dollars to such aging and defensively limited players, Schwarber’s numbers are so outsized that he’ll very likely command a lengthy contract.  There is also a sense that his market could be driven upwards by the Phillies, who have been very open about their desire to re-sign the slugger.

The Red Sox are very familiar with Schwarber, as he posted big numbers and quickly became a clubhouse favorite after Boston acquired him from the Nationals at the 2021 trade deadline.  Schwarber was just a rental pickup as he entered free agency that winter and signed his four-year, $79MM deal with Philadelphia.  On paper, Schwarber might not be an entirely ideal fit for the Sox since he’ll monopolize the DH spot and add another left-handed bat to an already lefty-leaning lineup, but these could be relatively minor concerns given the upside of Schwarber’s offense.

Bichette is a right-handed hitter, but his defensive fit is an open question, as whether or not Bichette remains at shortstop will be one of the key subplots of his free agency.  Bichette’s defense has been a question mark for years, and such public metrics as Defensive Runs Saved (-12) and Outs Above Average (-13) hated his glovework in 2025.

In the early days of the offseason, suitors “haven’t been scared off of Bichette at shortstop,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan writes, and it isn’t yet known if Bichette and his reps at Vayner Sports are marketing him strictly as a shortstop, or if Bichette is open to a position change.  He did make his big league debut at second base during the World Series, in a nod to the physical limitations of his PCL sprain.

As it relates to the Red Sox, Trevor Story is lined up as the team’s shortstop.  Story’s own defensive metrics were well below average in 2025, marking a surprising decline for a player who has been a very strong defensive shortstop for much of his career.  Breslow has said that Story will play shortstop next year, but since Story has shown a willingness to play other positions in the past (he was Boston’s regular second baseman when healthy in 2022), it is possible some shifting could go on within the Sox infield.  The simpler solution would be to just slot Bichette at second base alongside Story at shortstop, or Bichette could potentially factor into Boston’s third base picture.

The Sox have a prominent free agent infielder of their own in Alex Bregman, who MLBTR projects for a six-year, $160MM contract.  This puts Bregman as less expensive than Bichette and only a bit pricier than Schwarber.  Beyond just the cost of pure dollars, the Sox would need to give up draft pick compensation for signing a qualifying offer-rejecting free agent like Bichette or Schwarber, whereas Bregman could be re-signed for just money.  Bregman is also a known commodity for the organization, and he made a big impact both on and off the field in his one season in Boston.

That said, Bichette is also almost four years younger than Bregman and five years to the day younger than Schwarber.  Top prospect Marcelo Mayer made his MLB debut in 2025 and seems poised to take on a more regular role somewhere in Boston’s infield, so Mayer could conceivably take over Bregman’s old spot at third base while Bichette plays second or shortstop.  With Triston Casas rumored to be a trade candidate, first base has also been mentioned as target area for Boston, with names like Pete Alonso, Kazuma Okamoto, and Munetaka Murakami floated as speculative candidates to join the Sox.

White Sox Receiving Trade Interest In Kyle Teel

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White Sox catcher Kyle Teel has been drawing trade interest, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon.  This item comes a few days after another report indicating that Sox backstop Edgar Quero was also receiving trade inquiries.

It would take “a spectacular return” for Chicago to deal either catcher, in the words of Rosenthal and Sammon.  This aligns with recent comments made by White Sox GM Chris Getz, who told Sox Machine’s James Fegan that “I don’t think” it was time for the Sox to consider trading from their depth behind the plate.

The fact that rival clubs are even asking about Teel or Quero is a reminder that teams make all sorts of due-diligence inquiries about many players, no matter how seemingly unlikely a trade would seem.  Teel and Quero are top-100 prospects who just finished their rookie seasons, and are under team control through the 2031 season.  On paper, there is little reason why a rebuilding team like the White Sox would be open to dealing either catcher so early in their careers.

Even if the Sox might already have one of Teel or Quero specifically in mind as their proverbial catcher of the future, there’s no immediate reason for the club to move the other, especially when the duo can split time behind the plate in 2026 and also gain extra at-bats via the DH role.  Catching depth is such a rare commodity around the league that it isn’t surprising to see teams inquire about what is technically a surplus for Chicago at the position (Korey Lee is also on the 40-man roster), but for that same reason, the Sox are surely wary about trading from this surplus.

Teel is the higher-profile of the two catchers, as the Red Sox selected him 14th overall in the 2023 draft and Teel was perhaps the key piece of the trade package Chicago received for Garrett Crochet last offseason.  Called up to the Show in early June, Teel made a strong showing in his rookie year, hitting .273/.375/.411 with eight home runs in his first 297 plate appearances against big league pitching.  By comparison, Quero hit .268/.333/.356 with five homers in 403 PA, and neither catcher was particularly impressive from a defensive standpoint.

Pirates Interested In Kyle Schwarber, Showed Interest In Josh Naylor

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Pirates GM Ben Cherington said last week that he had “more [financial] flexibility than we’ve had in other offseasons I’ve been in Pittsburgh,” and subsequent reports indicated that Bucs ownership could approach the $40MM mark with their spending plans this winter.  This willingness to spend has translated to some early interest in two of the best hitters on the free agent market, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the Pirates have interest in Kyle Schwarber, and also had interest in Josh Naylor before Naylor re-signed with the Mariners.

The exact nature of the Bucs’ talks with Naylor weren’t specified, yet Passan indicated that the Pirates were prepared to offer Naylor more than $78MM.  This would’ve been, by a wide margin, the priciest free agent deal in Pirates history.  Francisco Liriano’s three-year, $39MM deal from December 2014 remains the biggest guarantee the perennially low-spending Buccos have ever given to a free agent.

Naylor re-upped with the Mariners for five years and $92.5MM.  Beyond just the money, there was plenty of mutual interest between Naylor and the M’s in continuing their relationship, as evidenced by the fact that Naylor agreed to a new deal so soon after the free agent market opened.  Seattle looks well-positioned to keep contending throughout Naylor’s tenure, so it likely would’ve taken a drastic overpay from the Pirates to convince him to leave the Mariners for a Pittsburgh club that has struggled through seven straight losing seasons.

Along these same lines, Schwarber is expected to receive plenty of offers from big-market contenders, including his former team in Philadelphia.  MLB Trade Rumors projects Schwarber to receive a five-year, $135MM contract, even though he is entering his age-33 season and is essentially a DH-only player at this point in his career.  Schwarber’s huge power, consistent production, and reputation as a clubhouse leader will very likely outweigh concerns about his age, and the Phillies (like the Mariners with Naylor) are prioritizing bringing Schwarber back into the fold.

This being said, the fact that Schwarber and Naylor are even being mentioned in connection to the Pirates is eye-opening, and perhaps indicative of how uncharacteristically aggressive Pittsburgh may be in trying to upgrade its lineup.  While the Pirates have been rebuilding for the bulk of Cherington’s tenure, his last couple of offseasons have seen the GM spread out his limited spending capacity over multiple players, with the idea of addressing several needs rather than making one single big strike.  The tactic makes sense on paper, but it hasn’t really worked in practice, as the Bucs have remained under the .500 mark.

With this in mind, Pittsburgh might now be more open to adding one clear-cut star bat to its lineup, even if it means going outside the team’s usual financial comfort zone.  The very top of the free agent hitting market (i.e. Kyle Tucker or Bo Bichette) is likely still out of the question for the Pirates.  But, if Schwarber and Naylor are on the radar, players like Cody Bellinger, Pete Alonso, Eugenio Suarez, Kazuma Okamoto, and any number of other available bats could now conceivably be within Pittsburgh’s spending range.

Bucs fans can be forgiven for taking a “we’ll believe it when we see it” stance on the Pirates’ pursuit of major free agents.  That said, Paul Skenes’ immediate impact as arguably baseball’s best pitcher has created more pressure on the team to return to contention while Skenes is still under team control.  Skenes and the Pirates’ collection of promising young arms was let down by a dismal offense in 2025, so adding hitting is the obvious top priority on the team’s offseason checklist.

The common theory going into the winter was that Pittsburgh was again going to trade from its stockpile of hurlers to obtain some much-needed hitting help.  Cherington had already flatly shot down any possibility of Skenes being dealt, but conceivably any of the less-experienced arms could be dealt for an equally promising young bat.  As for the Buccos’ more seasoned pitchers, the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon reported today that Johan Oviedo is drawing trade interest, and Mitch Keller has been mentioned in trade rumors for months.

Keller is also the Pirates’ second-highest paid player, so dealing the right-hander would free up more payroll room for further moves.  This could mean more exploration at the higher end of the free agent market, or the Pirates could conceivably take on some salary in a trade for a more expensive hitter.  Trading Keller for a similarly-priced hitter would be the smoothest way to accomplish this goal, though such an easy match isn’t obvious on the trade front.

The fact that the Pirates were looking at Naylor doesn’t necessarily mean that the team isn’t satisfied with incumbent first baseman Spencer Horwitz, as Horwitz could be moved to DH in the event that another first baseman was added.  It also could mean that Pittsburgh was more broadly looking at any available top bat, and figuring out the positional fit can come after the fact.

One position that probably won’t receive much attention is shortstop, as top prospect Konnor Griffin is expected to be in the majors at some point in 2026.  This could even be as early as Opening Day, as Passan writes that “the Pirates are strongly considering giving [Griffin]…the opportunity to win their big league shortstop job” in Spring Training.  It would be a bold promotion for a 19-year-old who has only one year of pro ball under his belt, and Griffin’s resume consists of 21 Double-A games and zero Triple-A games.

Nevertheless, Griffin is viewed as perhaps the best prospect in baseball, and he looked so impressive in 2025 that he already appears to be on the verge of his MLB debut.  Putting Griffin on the Opening Day roster and keeping him in the majors throughout 2026 could eventually earn the Pirates a bonus draft pick via the Prospect Promotion Incentive program, should Griffin win Rookie of the Year honors, or if he has a top-three finish in NL MVP voting during his pre-arbitration years.

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