Ben Cherington's first three offseasons as Pirates general manager were marked more by learning or outgoing trades than by any foray into free agency.
For example, the Pirates this winter have spent $30,375,000 on free agents — on the lower end MLB-wide, but nearly $11 million more than Pittsburgh's past three offseasons combined and the most for the club since 2017 ($37,575,000).
Put another way, Cherington before this winter had spent more than $3 million on a free agent just twice during his tenure (Yoshi Tsutsugo and Roberto Perez, both last offseason) but over the past few months has done it five times with Vince Velasquez, Rich Hill, Carlos Santana, Austin Hedges and Andrew McCutchen.
