Last offseason, I advocated that the Pittsburgh Pirates sign outfielder Ramon Laureano in free agency. Alas, general manager Ben Cherington did not take my advice.
Laureano will again become a free agent in November. The Pirates shouldn't miss this time.
The Pirates finished last in the major leagues in home runs this year with 107. They also finished last in runs scored and in the National League Central.
Meanwhile, Laureano hit 24 home runs in 132 games combined with the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres while making just $4 million. The Pirates are perpetually sorting through the bargain bins of free agents, and Laureano was clearly a bargain.
Laureano's slash line was .281/.342/.512, and he had an OPS+ of 136. The right-handed hitter also contributed 3.8 bWAR.
Let's put Laureano's season in the context of the Pirates' 29th losing season in the last 33 years.
Laureano's 24 home runs would have led the Pirates. Center fielder Oneil Cruz hit a team-leading 20 longballs.
Laureano's 138 OPS+ would have easily topped the Pirates. The league average OPS+ is 100, and first baseman Spencer Horwitz was the only Pirates hitter to finish above that mark with +118.
Laureano's .512 slugging percentage would have been 78 points higher than Horwitz's team-leading .434 mark.
Laureano's 3.8 bWAR would have trailed only NL Cy Young Award favorite Paul Skenes, who had 7.6. The top Pirates' hitter was infielder Jared Triolo at 2.4.
Furthermore, Laureano is a good defender. He had seven defensive runs this season and has the reputation of possessing one of the strongest arms among MLB outfielders.
At 31, Laureano is moving toward the decline phase of his career and likely won't duplicate his 2025 season. He will likely make more than $4 million next season.
Yet Laureano also had a solid 2024 season in which he played part-time for both the Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Guardians, hitting .259/.311/.437 with 11 homers in 98 games.
Laureano wouldn't single-handedly lift the Pirates to their first World Series berth since 1979 and first division title since 1992.
However, he was better than anyone the Pirates had this season.