Pirates Should Avoid This Cheap Outfielder at All Costs in MLB Free Agency

The Pittsburgh Pirates are going to have to improve on the offensive side of the baseball this offseason, and it's going to result in some money having to be spent. 

The Pirates are in one of the better positions in Major League Baseball to improve this offseason, especially when you factor in some of the guys who could be traded from the farm system if they want to go in this direction. 

I'm still curious to see what the Pirates are going to do with the Brandon Lowe situation, as I would say that's the biggest part of the offseason. If the Pirates aren't serious about putting together the best possible roster, then Lowe won't return. 

If this front office and ownership are finally going to spend some money and do what's needed on both sides of the baseball, he'll be on the team next year, and they'll be one of the better offenses in baseball so long as they make the other necessary moves.

Regardless of whether Lowe is on the roster, the Pirates still have to improve in other areas. 

There's an argument that they can use another offensive player regardless of whether Lowe is there, which makes a guy like Daulton Varsho a bit interesting to consider. He's not much of an offensive guy, though he has proven throughout other parts of his career that he can be a decent player on that side of the baseball.

It's tough to say when his best season came because he's also dealt with some injuries, and he hasn't posted an OPS+ above 100 in any season in which he's played more than 95 games outside of the 2022 season, when he posted a 108 OPS+, but historically, he's about a 100 OPS+ bat, sitting at 95 for his career.

The Athletic recently suggested he could be someone the team goes after, and the contract situation makes him even more interesting to consider because of how cheap he would be.

“Varsho started the year with the Blue Jays, batting .243 with a .307 OBP while hitting seven homers and stealing nine bases in 99 games. The Gold Glove winner wasn’t quite the same defensively, according to metrics and scouts who evaluated him. The Astros acquired him at the deadline and he hit just .172 for them. Late in the season, it was discovered that he had played the entire year with a wrist injury that included two cysts. He underwent surgery in late September to remove the cysts and should be 100 percent before spring training… Contract prediction: 1 year, $8 million,” Jim Bowden of The Athletic wrote.

My problem with Varsho is that he's coming off a season in which he was pretty bad offensively, posting a 76 OPS+, .637 OPS, and hitting .221. He really didn't impress anywhere in that regard, which is a problem for a team that's going to spend a limited amount of money and has to find a way to hit these signings out of the park. 

At the same time, it's fair to mention that he's one of the best defenders in baseball in the outfield. If the Pirates are going for that, it's possible they could be interested in landing a player of his caliber to improve offensively.