The Pittsburgh Pirates have a lot to sort through now that the offseason is officially underway.

One of the first orders of business for the organization is to review which players are on expiring contracts and set to become free agents, and decide whether to bring them back or let them seek other opportunities.

Here is who finished the season on the 40-man roster and are set to hit the open market.

Pittsburgh’s main narrative this offseason will be whether or not the front office has enough funds in their budget to bring back arguably the team’s best hitter from last season: Brandon Lowe.

The 32-year-old is set to become a free agent, and there are no guarantees that the All-Star second baseman is back in Pittsburgh next year. Lowe is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, hitting 35 home runs with a .824 OPS. He also made tremendous strides in the field and is up for a Gold Glove award in the infield.

Lowe will be a free agent this winter, and it’ll be interesting to see what he signs for, whether it’s with the Pirates or somewhere else.

Pittsburgh signed Gregory Soto as a free agent last offseason, and now the 31-year-old is set to hit the open market once again.

Looking at the overall numbers, Soto had a respectable season with the Pirates. He posted a 3.63 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP. His strikeout rate of 27.7 percent in 2026 was also an improvement from a year ago.

One area where Pittsburgh was likely looking for more from Soto was in the back end of the bullpen. In his 22 save opportunities, he converted on only 16 of them.

Still, the Pirates need more bullpen depth, and Soto’s experience as a veteran reliever could be nice to have on a still-young team. If Pittsburgh doesn’t re-sign Soto, there will likely be another team interested in adding him.

Kirby Yates’ contract is indeed expiring, making him a free agent.

However, the veteran pitcher is in a very different situation than the two players mentioned earlier on this list. Yates confirmed after game 162 that he is retiring from baseball at the conclusion of the season.

Yates’ time in Pittsburgh didn’t last long. He pitched in 15 games after the Pirates traded for him ahead of the deadline in early August.

If anything, the Pirates know that Yates’ contract is coming off the books. Hopefully, they'll use those funds to re-sign Lowe or Soto, or add another impact player on the market.