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.
The plan's effectiveness can't be truly learned until the season starts, but it does indicate a shift in strategy for the Pirates, who obviously tore it down and are working toward building the entire thing back up again.
"We entered the offseason with a commitment to improve in 2023 and beyond 2023," Cherington told the Post-Gazette this week. "For this offseason, a big part of it was trying to add depth to our lineup and improve our overall on-base ability, plus strengthen and get more left-handed in our pitching staff.
"We wanted to do it in a way that strengthened our team but kept runway open for young players to earn playing time and develop at the major league level. We explored all sorts of things, but we were able to find several matches in free agency that we believe fit our goals. We've had great support from [Pirates owner] Bob [Nutting] along the way."
With the Pirates likely done spending and set to formally re-introduce McCutchen on Friday at PNC Park, let's take a closer look at the ins and outs of their offseason thus far.
Financial context
For the Pirates, it has been an improvement over some meager offseason spending the past few years. It also ups their payroll to a projected $72,556,630, per Ethan Hullihen of Pirates Prospects, which puts it close to what the team spent in 2014 ($73,426,249).
However, it's barely a drop in the bucket when examining the full MLB picture.
According to Spotrac, the Yankees and Mets spent more than $1 billion via free agency this offseason, while nine teams exceeded $100,000,000. The Pirates rank 23rd, behind the Rays ($40 million 20th), Guardians ($39 million, 21st) and Athletics ($34 million, 22nd).
On-field fits
Hunting on-base percentage is a natural way to try and score more runs than the 591 the Pirates had in 2022, which ranked 27th in MLB and was second-lowest in the National League. With a team OBP last season of .291 (28th in MLB, last in the NL), this winter they brought in four players who fared better than that in 2022.
Ji-Man Choi, a trade acquisition, leads the group at .341. He's followed by Connor Joe (.338), McCutchen (.316) and Santana (.316). Hedges (.241) fell well short. It's also worth noting Santana had a .362 OBP his first 12 MLB seasons before the 2022 downturn, which very possibly could be shift-related.
Santana's home run total (19) would've tied Jack Suwinski for second-most on the Pirates. McCutchen hit the same number as Oneil Cruz.
Is any of that enough? Again, we'll see.
The Pirates' .655 team OPS in 2022 certainly wasn't good enough, so there's ample room for improvement. This offseason already looks better than the last one, when Tsutsugo flopped, Perez played just 21 games and Daniel Vogelbach saw action in 75, including one 35-game spurt where he hit just .157.
To Cherington's point, the Pirates also left open for competition second base and at least one outfield role, for which Suwinski should probably be considered the early leader.
Off-field fits
In addition to getting on base and potentially scoring more runs, this is an area that could further define the class, although Cherington maintained that it's not weighted as heavily as anything a player can do baseball-wise.
McCutchen, because of his previous ties, has his own zip code here. But Santana, 36, has long been known for his positive attitude, energy and ability to guide younger players. That sort of thing should matter as the Pirates look to further groom Cruz and Rodolfo Castro.
On the pitching side, no, Hill (who turns 43 in March) won't look to purchase a house near PNC Park; he's clearly a rental. At the same time, he's practically been around since the Deadfall Era and can teach the Pirates' young arms about what it means to pitch versus throw.
The Hedges signing was panned due to his prolonged offensive struggles, but it might feed into a larger discussion surrounding catching value.
In other words, if Hedges' career wRC+ (an all-encompassing stat where 100 is considered average) means he stinks as a hitter, doesn't his number of defensive runs saved (75, most among any catcher) mean he's an elite defender?
Bottom line, the Pirates added players who can add value in non-traditional ways, whether it's via defense and guiding a pitching staff or with less quantifiable stuff such as leadership.
"We look at and weigh our performance projection and the role fit first," Cherington said. "The conversation with the player about the role and opportunities we see for him and the team is critical.
"If the outcome is that a player contributes positively to our culture, influences teammates and sets a great example, great. It has value, but it's a harder thing to predict, which is why we typically start with the performance projection and role fit."
The bigger picture
While the Pirates' offseason activity has offered a welcome respite over the trades of Josh Bell, Jameson Taillon and Joe Musgrove, or the ultimately disappointing additions of players such as Jake Marisnick, Heath Hembree or Jarrod Dyson, Cherington knows there's still plenty of ground to cover.
In the immediate future, that could involve sorting out first base and eventually unearthing playing time for a younger player, potentially Malcom Nunez or Endy Rodriguez, if they need a place to stash the latter's bat. There's also an arbitration case with Choi looming.
A Hill trade is inevitable, while the ideal catching plan could mean Hedges has company by May or June, with Rodriguez and/or Henry Davis netting a promotion. In the outfield, the Pirates have a logjam Miguel Andujar and fringe prospects without a clear path to playing time.
Good and bad news, really.
They didn't do anything this winter to hamstring them for 2023 and beyond, but that also means a potential redux next winter. Meanwhile, a Bryan Reynolds trade remains possible, and it would make sense for the Pirates to commit long-term to Cruz.
Bottom line, the Pirates started to nudge the ball up the hill this winter and must do whatever it takes to keep that momentum going.
"We believe our roster will be deeper heading into this spring than last spring," Cherington said. "We hope that helps us. So much of our opportunity to improve, though, will be through the guys who were already here. We're just as focused on helping them. We're looking forward to getting to Bradenton and starting to see that work live on the field. It should be an exciting, competitive spring."
