After a season in which prospects like Henry Davis and Endy Rodriguez made their major league debuts and young players like Jack Suwinski and Johan Oviedo advanced, the Pirates are looking to improve. Pittsburgh finished fourth in the NL Central with a 76-86 record, 16 games behind the division-leading Brewers, despite the fact that those young players didn’t accomplish much to aid the team in the standings. Important players like Oviedo and Rodriguez are anticipated to miss the 2024 season.
Despite these challenges, the Pirates continue to exercise their shallow kind of free agency. To help round out the lineup, the team has already signed Rowdy Tellez and recalled Andrew McCutchen. According to Kevin Gorman of TribLive, GM Ben Cherington has stated that the team intends to sign at least one more position player. Second baseman Adam Frazier is one player Gorman mentions the team has been linked to in the rumor mill. Frazier spent a portion of six seasons in Pittsburgh after the team selected him in the sixth round of the 2013 draft and promoted him to the major leagues in 2016.
Frazier struggled in San Diego and Seattle after the Pirates moved him to the Padres midway through the 2021 season. He finally found success with the Orioles last offseason on a one-year deal. Even with young, promising players like Jordan Westburg competing for playing time at the keystone, Frazier’s playing time was significantly limited, but he still saw semi-regular playing time in Baltimore. With the Orioles last season, Frazier slashed.240/.300/.396 in 455 at-bats, posting a wRC+ of 93, a significant improvement over his 80 wRC+ from the prior season in Seattle. Frazier isn’t exactly an impact signing, but he could give the Pirates a reliable, seasoned option at second base while allowing players like Nick Gonzalez to advance and earn regular playing time in the majors. Second base has roughly league-average offense and rough defense (15 OAA, -1 DRS).