After losing out on Kazuma Okamoto, the Pittsburgh Pirates need to be ready to make a move, and the next name to watch is a great one.
According to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh is expected to show interest in veteran third baseman Eugenio Suarez as the market begins to move again.
He even added that there’s a chance that the Pirates already had interest in Suarez before Okamoto’s decision, which would make sense given the need for more offensive power, despite doing a decent job by adding players this winter.
“With Okamoto off the board, attention will shift to Eugenio Suárez, if it wasn’t already there. The 34-year-old makes plenty of sense, too. He posted career highs in home runs (49, tied) and RBIs (118) while splitting 159 games last season with the Diamondbacks and Mariners.
“Suarez also produced his best OPS (.824) since 2019. The defense isn’t great, and Suarez hit just .228 a year ago, but he’s averaged 33 homers and 155 games played over the past full nine seasons. That’ll play. It’s possible Suarez’s market was delayed as teams waited for Okamoto to make his decision, but now that we’re past that, Suarez could be the next domino to fall,” he wrote.
The Pirates entered the offseason clearly looking for power, particularly at third base, and Okamoto was viewed as the answer. Once that door closed, it’s smart that Pittsburgh would turn its attention to a proven major-league bat rather than trying to get creative or not fixing it at all.
The Pirates don’t necessarily need a long-term star at third base, and might not find one after moving Ke'Bryan Hayes (although we all understood his offensive issues).
If Suarez’s market truly was delayed by teams waiting on Okamoto, I’d expect a deal to come sometime over the next few weeks.
Suarez, while he struggled after being traded to the Seattle Mariners last year, is still a really good player. With the other offensive additions Pittsburgh has made, it should feel confident.
I don’t suspect that he’ll be too expensive, either, and that’s always a good thing for the Pirates.