3 relievers the Pittsburgh Pirates should target in free agency

Few needs are as glaring for the Pittsburgh Pirates as their bullpen.

The Pirates’ relievers ranked 27th in ERA and were among the league’s worst at holding late leads. They ranked third in most missed saves and second in leads lost in the ninth inning. They also ranked in the bottom 10 in walks per nine innings and strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Whether it’s adding a closer to take David Bednar’s spot in the bullpen or signing a pair of arms, Pittsburgh can’t withstand its current relievers if it wants to improve and get into the playoffs .

Here are three replacement players Pittsburgh could target as free agents.

Adding a reliever with experience in multiple roles and pitching in big games could help the Pirates improve their bullpen in 2025.

José Leclerc would offer both and add even more advantages. His 12 strikeouts per nine innings were his best since 2020 and would have been second in Pittsburgh, behind only Aroldis Chapman, who may be leaving in free agency.

Leclerc was 6-5 with a 4.32 ERA and threw 66.2 innings in 64 appearances last season. In 2023, he was instrumental in the Texas Rangers’ postseason run before winning the World Series, going 1-1 with a 3.29 ERA in 13.2 innings and striking out 14 batters.

The Rangers reliever also performed well against right-handed batters, holding them to a .193 batting average and having a 4.71 strikeout-to-walk ratio against them. His performance against lefties left a lot to be desired, as they batted .291 against him and had a .419 on-base percentage. These issues could be remedied if the Pirates used a left-handed reliever alongside him, which leads us to our next pitcher.

Finding a way to keep left-handed hitters in check would go a long way toward improving the Pirates bullpen. Caleb Ferguson is one of the better options in free agency to fill this need.

Lefties hit .250/.326/.423 and hit 80 home runs. These numbers are comparable to right-handed hitters who hit .250/.317/.388 despite having nearly 1,000 more at-bats than lefties. Ferguson held left-handed batters to a .218 batting average and a .308 slugging percentage.

Ferguson showed signs of figuring it out after being traded from the New York Yankees to the Houston Astros. Betting on the 28-year-old reliever to continue to figure it out might not be a bad bet for Pittsburgh to fill one of its bigger needs in the bullpen.

If the Pirates decide to make improving the bullpen their priority this offseason, it would make perfect sense to go all-in on Philadelphia Phillies reliever Jeff Hoffman.

The hard-throwing right-hander went 3-3 and made the first All-Star of his career, setting career highs in appearances (68), ERA (2.17), strikeouts (89) and saves (10). He continued to be outstanding in 2023, going 5-2 with a 2.41 ERA and striking out 69 batters over 52.1 innings.

Hoffman won’t come cheap, but adding a backup player of his caliber is exactly the type of move that would show the Pirates are serious about trying to become a playoff team.

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