The Pittsburgh Pirates continue to explore ways to upgrade their offense this offseason, mainly in the infield, as it has been a problem over the past few seasons and felt like it hit a new low last year.
While the organization has shown a willingness to spend more than it typically does, signing star free agents is still very tough for a team like the Pirates. Even above-average ones are difficult, given some of the struggles we’ve seen for a very long time now.
That reality is now front and center in the Pirates’ reported interest in veteran third baseman Eugenio Suarez.
According to Ken Rosenthal, Pittsburgh is very much in the mix, but if a better team were to show interest, he expects Suarez to take that deal instead.
“I would certainly expect, and actually know that the Pirates are interested in Eugenio Suárez and the problem they're going to face is the problem they've faced with other free agents as well,” Rosenthal said. If Eugenio Suárez has chance to play for a more competitive team, in his opinion, he's going to choose that team.”
“If Eugenio Suárez can go to Boston, if he can return to one of his former teams, Seattle or Arizona, that might be his preference.”
Suarez would make plenty of sense in Pittsburgh if we’re going just off pure baseball talent. The veteran slugger brings proven power and experience, and is coming off a season in which he hit 49 home runs.
Suarez also fits the timeline better than some might think. The Pirates aren’t in a full rebuild. With Paul Skenes and other young arms as one of the best rotations in baseball, the front office has made it clear that they expect to win.
For a player at this stage of his career, chasing wins and postseason opportunities might be what he wants after being on some good teams recently. If comparable offers exist from clubs with easier playoff paths, I’d get why he’d want to play elsewhere.
However, this is a bit different than usual, so the Pirates might have some luck if they can sell everything to him.