The Pittsburgh Pirates missed out on another big free agent target in the form of veteran third base slugger Eugenio Suarez. He signed with the Cincinnati Reds for one year at $15 million, but the Pirates didn’t just match the Reds’ offer; they were willing to give him more. The Pirates now need to shrug it off, and use that money they put on the table for Suarez, and go after some of the remaining free agents.
(Honorable mention to re-signing Andrew McCutchen, but that has been covered plenty of times before)
Zack Littell
The last two seasons have seen Zack Littell breakout as a starting pitcher. He has tallied 343 innings between 2024 and 2025, working to a solid 3.73 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and a 4.42 FIP. Littell has a mediocre 19.2% K%, and has been home run prone, with a 1.52 HR/9 ratio and 9.7% barrel percentage. But he makes up for that with an elite 4.5% walk rate, which is tied for the lowest in baseball over the last two campaigns.
Littell’s 14.7% K-BB% between ‘24-’25 is right up there with the two best starting pitchers still available on the free agent market, that being Zac Gallen (14.7%), and Framber Valdez (15.5%). The only down side is Littell’s ERA estimators don’t love his performance. He has a 4.20 SIERA and 4.19 xFIP. His home run issues may be quelled in PNC Park, which is much less home run friendly compared to Tropicana Field, Great American Ballpark, and he’d likely get a better feel being in a Major League stadium, as he pitched half of 2025 with the Rays, who played at Steinbrenner Field.
2026 will only be Littell’s age-30 season, so the Pirates could pick him up on a multi-year contract. The Bucs would be committing most of the $15 million they offered Suarez, as he was projected to earn somewhere between $12-$15 million per year in free agency, and is also about what other middle-to-back rotation arms have signed for this offseason. Littell would easily secure the final spot in the rotation, and give the Pirates’ already formidable rotation another quality starter.
Nick Martinez
Since returning to the United States, Nick Martinez has solidified himself as one of baseball’s best swingmen pitchers. Last year was a down year by his usual standards, as he brandished a 4.45 ERA, 4.33 FIP, and 1.21 WHIP over a career-high 165.2 innings with the Cincinnati Reds. While he had a strong 6.1% walk rate, he also only K’d opponents 17% of the time. Despite an unimpressive 1.20 HR/9 ratio, he was in the 75th percentile of exit velocity (88.3 MPH) and the 74th percentile of barrel rate (6.9%).
Of course, Martinez entered 2025 after putting up a 3.31 ERA, 3.79 FIP, and 1.18 WHIP from 2022 through 2024. He was still limiting walks at a low rate of 6.7%, and was striking opponents out much more often, with a 21.4% K%. Home runs were also much less of a problem for Martinez, with a 1.00 HR/9 ratio. He was elite at limiting soft contact, as his 85.9 MPH exit velo was the best among any pitcher who threw at least 300 innings between these three campaigns, while his 6.6% barrel rate was the 18th lowest.
Martinez was projected by Spotrac to earn around $15 million this offseason as well. Since he mostly worked as a starting pitcher, as 26 of his 40 appearances were out of the Reds’ rotation, and maintained an ERA+ of 103, an uptick in value was expected. Martinez able to work out of both the bullpen and rotation would give the Pirates a considerable amount of flexibility, and leave the door open for Hunter Barco, and Jared Jones (later in the season) to get starts in as well.
Marcell Ozuna
Marcell Ozuna’s 2025 marked a regression from his outstanding 2023-2024. Last season, the DH slashed .232/.355/.400 with a .334 wOBA, and a 114 wRC+ over 592 plate appearances. On the plus side, Ozuna hit 21 home runs, marking the fourth straight year in a row the DH went yard 20+ times. He also had a .354 wOBA, which indicates some bad luck was affecting him. While he had a sub-par 24.3% K%, he also drew a free pass at a career-high 15.4% mark.
While those numbers are solid, and shows Ozuna has the potential to rebound, they are a bit troubling after how well he did in ‘23-’24. Between his previous two campaigns, he batted .289/.364/.552 with an impressive 148 wRC+. His 79 home runs were the fifth most in baseball. Plus, he had an outstanding 92 MPH exit velocity and 16% barrel rate. While he was still above-average in both stats during 2025 at 89.9 MPH and 11.8%, respectively, they were a far cry from what he is used to putting up.
Ozuna will likely sign for around $13-15 million. However, if the Bucs signed, that would mean Ryan O’Hearn likely sees more outfield playing time. As of right now, O’Hearn is projected to be the Pirates’ primary designated hitter. Ozuna coming into the mix would mean O’Hearn would likely see more time in the outfield, where he has -11 DRS and -3 OAA in 733 career innings. Then the question becomes is Ozuna’s offense worth putting O’Hearn in the field more frequently? The Pirates need all the hitting they can get, and if it means playing O’Hearn in the outfield more frequently, then that’s a risk the Bucs should be willing to take.
