The Pittsburgh Pirates have been floated as a surprising destination for a former MVP.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have been one of the most active teams in baseball this offseason, adding pieces like Ryan O'Hearn, Brandon Lowe and Jake Mangum to strengthen their lineup.
They may not be done, either.
During a recent appearance on Foul Territory, former MLB general manager Jim Bowden said that he has heard the Pirates could be involved on free-agent outfielder Cody Bellinger.
"There could be a mystery team on Bellinger, but he might not want to go there," Bowden said. "I've heard whispers about the Pittsburgh Pirates."
Bowden added that Bellinger's first choice would be to stay with the New York Yankees, who reportedly made a second offer to the former NL MVP over the weekend.
Of course, as Bowden noted, Pittsburgh will likely face the same problem with Bellinger that it has faced with the other big-name players it has targeted this offseason: desirability.
It seems rather unlikely that Bellinger would want to sign a five-plus-year contract with the Pirates, a team that has made just three playoff appearances since 1993 and won 71 games this past season.
Cody Bellinger. Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images.If Bellinger doesn't re-sign with the Yankees, you would have to think that another contender would come along and scoop him up.
Pittsburgh would have to vastly overpay to have any real chance of convincing Bellinger to come to Steel City, and the Bucs just don't have the financial wherewithal to do that.
You have to give the Pirates credit for being in on so many of these top free agents, but at the same time, they surely had to know going into the offseason that the chances of them actually landing any of them were slim to none.
Bellinger slashed .272/.334/.480 with 29 home runs and 98 RBI over 656 plate appearances in New York this past season while also playing tremendous corner outfield defense.
The 30-year-old began his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017 and won an MVP award in 2019, but then fell off dramatically over his last three years there. He signed with the Chicago Cubs in 2023 and revitalized his career, posting an .881 OPS that season.
The Pirates are still in dire need of offense, so Bellinger would represent a great fit, but it just doesn't seem all that probable.