I’ve written all season about how the Pittsburgh Pirates need to upgrade their offense. As a team, they rank among the worst in the Majors in almost every offensive category.
A lot of this could be attributed to their hitting approach, which seems to make hitters worse in the Majors, and has negative impacts throughout the system.
This team also lacks high-end offensive talent. They’ve got some internal candidates in Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds, but two players in a nine player lineup isn’t enough.
The good news is that their depth provides a stable offensive floor. The trade deadline additions of Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Bryan De La Cruz boost the depth. Upgrading the hitting coaching should raise the floor for every player on the roster.
This is a team that could benefit from focusing on their ceiling, adding one or two impact hitters to the lineup, while hoping a hitting change improves everyone across the board.
Today, I’m taking an early look at the 2025 offense, and where the Pirates could see upgrades.
Catcher
The biggest success story this season for the Pirates has been the acquisition of Joey Bart.
The former second overall pick is batting .276/.347/.519 with 12 homers in 202 plate appearances. It’s a small sample size, but it currently qualifies him as the best hitting catcher in the league. Bart’s .371 wOBA and 138 wRC+ both rank first overall among 36 catchers with 200+ plate appearances.
The question is whether Bart can do this over a full season. The Pirates are given security by their backup catchers.
Endy Rodriguez has recently returned to action in Bradenton, playing in games at Pirate City. He was in line to be the starting catcher, before going down with Tommy John last offseason. Rodriguez has yet to hit in the Majors, with a .220/.284/.328 line in 204 plate appearances in his rookie season last year. He has the best defense behind the plate of the available options, and should get a shot to pair with Bart.
Henry Davis has also struggled in the Majors, hitting .197/.292/.319 across two seasons, including .153/.267/.235 this year. Davis has been hitting in Triple-A, batting .318/.417/.590 with 13 homers. Since the All-Star Break, he’s hitting .352/.418/.545, while reducing his strikeout rate to 16%.
The Pirates shouldn’t count on Bart to replicate his 2024 production, based on 200 plate appearances. They also shouldn’t count on two young catchers who have yet to hit in the Majors. The trio should relieve pressure on each other. Bart doesn’t need to be an everyday catcher with Rodriguez and Davis in the mix. Those two don’t need to be the saviors of the position with Bart hopefully starting to establish himself this year.
This has become a strong position that only projects to get better, with all of the potential improvements coming from within the system.
First Base
As I wrote in today’s First Pitch, I think you could make an argument to bring back Rowdy Tellez in 2025. He was one of the worst hitters in the game for the first two months of this season, but has been one of the best hitting first basemen in the league since the start of June.
The downside here is that Tellez struggles against lefties. This could be relieved from the fallout at the catching position. If the Pirates were to carry three catchers, they could work one of them in at first base or designated hitter.
While Davis struggled in a big way at the plate this year, he did have success against lefties, batting .278/.435/.444. He doesn’t have any experience at first base, so that would need to be something for the Pirates and Davis to work on prior to next season. Rodriguez didn’t have success against lefties last season, but does have experience playing first base.
The alternative would be moving Bryan Reynolds to first base. Reynolds is having one of his best offensive seasons this year. He will be in his age-30 season next year, and is under contract through 2030, with a club option for 2031. That puts him under team control through his age 36 season.
Reynolds isn’t great defensively in the outfield, and the Pirates could benefit by moving him to an easier position. That would also help for the long-term, ensuring that he can focus on his offense more into his 30s.
Whether bringing back Tellez, or moving Reynolds to first base, the Pirates have some obtainable options to provide above-average offense at this important position.
Second Base
Nick Gonzales emerged this year from a trio of candidates that included Jared Triolo and Liover Peguero in Spring Training. Gonzales hit .358/.431/.608 in 137 plate appearances in Triple-A. He has since hit .258/.293/.387 in his time in the majors.
His offense is slightly below league average, so there’s room for improvement from Gonzales. He just started his rehab work in Triple-A on Tuesday, and will have the rest of the season to show what he can do.
Triolo hasn’t hit enough in the majors to remain in the starter discussion, though he would be a good defensive utility player off the bench. Peguero is hitting .249/.314/.391 in Triple-A, and will need to hit at that level before entering the discussion at the big league level.
The Pirates added three potential options at this position at the trade deadline, in the event that Gonzales doesn’t improve.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa is under contract for $7.5 million next year, and is hitting .285/.329/.420 between his time with Toronto and Pittsburgh. His numbers have declined with the Pirates, but he’s still around league average, and would be a slight improvement over what Gonzales has shown so far. Falefa is a strong defender all around the infield, so he could be an option elsewhere.
Nick Yorke and Billy Cook were also added at the deadline. Yorke made an adjustment to his swing and approach at the plate this year, and has shown steady improvements. The 2020 first rounder is hitting for an .861 OPS with Indianapolis, after hitting for an .898 OPS with Boston’s Triple-A squad. He’s also played center field with the Pirates, which is a new position for him.
Cook is crushing the ball with Indianapolis, to a tune of a 1.061 OPS. He’s a year removed from hitting 24 homers and stealing 30 bases in Double-A, and has done a lot to reduce his strikeout rate this year. The 25-year-old can play all over the field, and has spent time at first base and all three outfield spots since joining the Pirates. He could be a depth option for first base, and has more value as a starting candidate for the outfield. He can play second.
The Pirates have a lot of options here. Gonzales is the starter, but they have a safe option in Kiner-Falefa. Yorke looks like the best backup plan out of Triple-A if either of those two can’t produce at the position, for whatever reason. Gonzales and Yorke both provide the chance of internal improvements, with Kiner-Falefa solidifying the production floor.
Shortstop
Oneil Cruz is the starter at short, though he has 24 errors this year, and rates as one of the worst defensive shortstops in the league. His bat has been improving, especially against lefties.
The Pirates might be better off moving Cruz to the outfield, which would reduce his negative defensive value from this position, and allow him to focus on hitting.
I think the Pirates could upgrade their team by going with Kiner-Falefa as a starter at shortstop, with Cruz moving to the outfield. In over 2800 innings in the majors at the position, Kiner-Falefa has 28 defensive runs saved and a 27 plus/minus. He also has a positive UZR/150. They have Gonzales as a potential backup at shortstop, and Triolo can also play the position.
It’s been controversial to suggest moving Cruz, but I think the Pirates need to depart from the dream of having a high offense, power hitter at the position. While Cruz could provide the offense for that profile, keeping him at short is detrimental to the team, and the total value from Cruz.
They could upgrade the defense with Kiner-Falefa, adding a league-average hitter to the daily lineup, while using Cruz to fill a bigger need in the outfield.
Third Base
This position has become a question mark due to the back injury for Ke’Bryan Hayes. I think the best approach for the Pirates would be to rehab him the remainder of this season and over the offseason, hoping for a healthy return in 2025.
Hayes is only a year removed from being a Gold Glover at the position, while also showing improvements on offense. His back issues have impacted him on both sides of the ball, but this is a player who put up back-to-back 3-WAR seasons entering this year.
The Pirates have Triolo as a defensive backup, along with Kiner-Falefa as an option. The former hasn’t shown that he can hit to be a starter, while the latter would impact the shortstop discussion above.
Because the Pirates have backup plans, they should roll the dice with Hayes, hoping for a rebound from this season.
Left Field
This is where Reynolds has been playing this season, while putting up his second-best offensive production of his career. As noted above, Reynolds is a bad defender in the outfield, and would probably be better at an easier position.
Reynolds ranks 28th overall in defensive runs saved out of 31 left fielders with 400+ innings this year. He ranks 26th in Plus/Minus. He does have a positive UZR/150, with his 8.9 ranking fourth in that same group. This is due to top ten rankings in range and arm, along with a lack of errors.
If the Pirates moved Reynolds to first base, they could focus their offseason dollars on a corner outfielder. They could also go with Cruz in the outfield, and focus their free agent dollars on center field.
Or, they could keep Reynolds in the outfield, bring back Tellez at first, and possibly move Cruz to right field. There are difficult decisions to be made with Reynolds and Cruz, mostly due to their defense. How the Pirates handle these decisions will impact the rest of their roster.
Center Field
This is the biggest area where the Pirates could use an upgrade. They have internal prospects, led by the recently added Cook and Yorke. I think Cook would be the better candidate for this spot. I also think it would be a mistake to bank the entire season on a prospect who has yet to play in the big leagues.
Harrison Bader would be an interesting target. He’s got offense that is below league average, but some of the best defense in the game. This would largely be a repeat of Michael A. Taylor this season, with the hope that Bader doesn’t see his offense fall off the table.
The Pirates could go with a combination of someone like Bader or Taylor, while working Cook into the mix. The trade market could also provide options, though teams don’t easily come off productive center fielders.
This would be the most obvious position for the Pirates to upgrade from the outside, though the chances of adding an impact player are difficult.
Right Field
Right field is a question mark, though the Pirates have options. They added Bryan De La Cruz at the trade deadline, after starting the season with Jack Suwinski.
De La Cruz has had a bad start in Pittsburgh, though he seems to be getting back on track lately, with hits in six of his last seven games. He’s been a league average hitter consistently throughout his career, up until joining the Pirates.
Suwinski hit 45 home runs the previous two seasons, and had above-average offensive results last year. He struggled this year, hitting .182/.264/.324 in the Majors, and has been hitting .151/.232/.260 in Triple-A.
This points to the biggest area where the Pirates could upgrade, and that is their hitting coach. Too many players have joined the Pirates this year, only to put up the worst numbers of their careers. That’s most obvious with these two outfielders.
The best case here would be to use De La Cruz as a bench option, with Suwinski continuing to work things out in Triple-A. The Pirates could move Oneil Cruz to the outfield to take one of the corner spots. If they left Cruz and Reynolds at their current positions, then an external corner outfielder might be the best way to add impact to the offense.
A better hitting coach could give the Pirates a league-average performer at this position. They could upgrade their corner outfield spots by moving Cruz to the outfield. If they moved Reynolds to first base, they could find an above-average hitter to fill one of the other outfield spots. This spot is the biggest fallout from the decision they need to make with Reynolds and Cruz.
Designated Hitter
Andrew McCutchen isn’t the MVP he once was, but he’s still an above-average hitter. The Pirates should bring him back next year if he wants to return, though it might be best to move him out of regular starting time to preserve his production throughout the year.
They could factor in the catching trio at the designated hitter spot, with McCutchen serving as an outfield option off the bench from time to time. Since two of the catchers have yet to hit in the Majors, the Pirates should open the season with McCutchen as the DH, allowing the catchers to earn more playing time if they hit.
Since the Pirates are looking for offense, I don’t think they should get rid of one of few above-average hitters from their team. That said, this position has a chance for improvement if the catchers can all hit.
The 2025 Lineup
The best group in 2025 looks to me like the following:
C – Joey Bart/Endy Rodriguez/Henry Davis
1B – Bryan Reynolds
2B – Nick Gonzales
SS – Isiah Kiner-Falefa
3B – Ke’Bryan Hayes/Jared Triolo
LF – Oneil Cruz
CF – External Addition/Billy Cook
RF – External Addition/Bryan De La Cruz
DH – Andrew McCutchen/Catchers
The bench in this scenario would include Rodriguez, Davis, Triolo, Cook, and De La Cruz, which is one too many. They could keep Cook or one of the catchers in Triple-A, but over the long season, all of these guys should get plenty of playing time.
Upgrading the hitting coach would be the biggest impact the team could make to raise the tide for all ships. There is a chance of adding help from the outside. Center field is the biggest need, while the Pirates could decide between Tellez at first base (with Reynolds in the outfield) or a corner outfielder from the outside (with Reynolds at first base).
This offense has a good floor. The Pirates need to focus on upgrading the ceiling this offseason.
