"The Pirates are desperately in need of offense to support an excellent young pitching staff. General manager Ben Cherington said yesterday that the front office has "more flexibility than they've had in [any] other offseasons" since he was hired going into the 2020 season. That might enable them to make multiple additions from the middle tiers of free agency. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the Bucs could commit between $30-40MM to their 2026 payroll."
"That's at the higher end of what they've spent in previous offseasons. They spent narrowly above $30MM in free agency going into the 2023 and '24 campaigns. That dropped to roughly $20MM last winter. They haven't signed a multi-year free agent contract in nearly a decade. Their $10.5MM signing of Aroldis Chapman over the 2023-24 offseason is the only eight-figure free agent deal of the Cherington era."
"Pittsburgh offloaded the remaining four years and $36MM on the Ke'Bryan Hayes contract in their deadline trade with Cincinnati. Dealing David Bednar to the Yankees subtracted an arbitration salary that MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects at $9MM. The Bucs have $30.5MM committed to Mitch Keller and Bryan Reynolds next season. They're likely to spend somewhere between $12-15MM on their arbitration class. They opened this past season with a player payroll around $88MM, so it makes sense that they could add something like $30-40MM."
Pittsburgh lacks offensive production and intends to augment the lineup to support a strong young pitching staff. The front office has more offseason flexibility than in prior Cherington years, creating room for multiple middle-tier free-agent additions. The team could commit roughly $30–40MM to the 2026 payroll after recent trades and roster moves. Trades removed Ke'Bryan Hayes' $36MM and David Bednar's projected $9MM arbitration salary from the books. The club already has $30.5MM committed to Mitch Keller and Bryan Reynolds and expects $12–15MM for arbitration, leaving capacity for targeted signings and possible multi-year offers.
Read at MLB Trade Rumors
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