Should the Pirates bring back any of their off-season acquisitions in 2025?

8-27-24 – By Ethan Smith – @mvp_EtHan on X

Ya know, its the end of August, the weather is warm some days and cooler on others, football is right around the corner, and with September comes questions regarding your favorite baseball team about what you’ve watched over the summer and how things could change going into the next season.

That is the case for about 12-13 teams right now, as the playoffs seem like a distant fantasy land that can’t be obtained, and with rosters expanding next week, you begin to see new faces emerge as possible contributors for next season and beyond.

At the time of writing, Pittsburgh is 62-68 and eight games back of the final wild card spot, currently occupied by the Braves. So, the Pirates are by no means “mathematically eliminated”, but they have a massive hill to climb, and it would take the Pirates overtaking six teams to make a postseason berth happen, so highly unlikely, but we’ve seen crazier things.

Part of the reason the Pirates are in the position they are is because they haven’t gotten what they expected from some of their acquisitions this past offseason and well, truthfully, some of what was already here.

It made me wonder though, could any of the acquisitions the Pirates made before the season began return to Pittsburgh in 2025?

Some of you may read the rest of this and immediately see a name and say “hell no”, but hear me out on what I have to say about each player, where they’d fit in the mold next season, what could be available, or well, not available, elsewhere and how it will effect the Pirates decision-making, and so much more.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

Aroldis Chapman

This is the player that sparked this question for me in the first place.

Amidst the turmoil we’ve seen with the bullpen over the past month, it seems as if Aroldis Chapman was always separated from it, and in some ways, he has been, but let us not forget he was a massive problem when the season began also.

Chapman’s monthly splits are something to marvel, because you probably wouldn’t believe me, but outside of his putrid April, where he had a 7.71 ERA, Chapman’s ERA by month has never eclipsed 4.00, and since June, it hasn’t been higher than 2.79.

Consider also that in August, Chapman has been one of the best relievers in baseball, posting a 0.90 ERA in 10 appearances this month and on top of that, a 0.60 ERA since the Pirates came back after the All-Star break.

The last time Chapman allowed an earned run you ask? August 2 against the Diamondbacks. Before that? July 13 versus the Chicago White Sox, so its safe to say that Chapman has been as reliable as anyone in the bullpen for a large portion of the season.

So, do you bring him back in 2025?

That question has many, many layers to it. For starters, Chapman will be 37-years old next year, and although he has been a marvel throughout his entire career, at some point you’d expect the tires will fall off for the Cuban Missile.

It hasn’t happened yet of course, and its a risk that not only the Pirates would be willing to take, seeing as Chapman has been strong this season as a back-end relief option, but on top of the age, I think you wonder financially if the Pirates can bring him back as well.

Yes, it threw me, and many of you reading, off guard when the Pirates signed Chapman to a one-year, $10.5-million contract this past offseason, but I understood it, because it filled a hole at the time and on paper, gave the Pirates one of the best back-end bullpens in baseball.

It of course hasn’t worked out that way, but ask yourself, and the team will also, are you comfortable paying nearly $11-million to a 37-year old reliever, especially if, and it likely will be, payroll is limited?

The last part of that is the crucial part, the financial aspect of all of this. If the payroll doesn’t increase, especially with the needs the Pirates have elsewhere, more on that later, it is hard to justify such a move, but the Pirates would have to find another set-up option if Chapman departs, and that of course could be internal with players like Kyle Nicolas, Colin Holderman, the return of Dauri Moreta and maybe others, so the options are there for a replacement already.

Chapman has found a way to defy everything that has come his way across his storied career as a reliever, and if the Pirates welcome him back next season, I wouldn’t at all be upset, and he’s had a more than solid 2024, and he’ll have suitors, but if the Pirates can bring Chapman back in 2025, they should.

Rowdy Tellez

Rowdy Tellez had one of the worst starts to a season one could imagine in 2024, with a DFA announcement all but awaiting for him early on.

Despite that, Tellez found a way to turn around his season especially when the calendar turned to June. In March, April and May, Tellez batted well below the Mendoza line with an OPS in the 400s at times, but when June arrived, Tellez batted .333 with an OPS of .926, and those good fortunes carried over to July, where Tellez slashed .297/.338/.578/.916 with five home runs and 14 RBIs.

He’s slowed down in August, posting a .716 OPS with just two home runs this month, and as a full sample size, the turnaround is nice and all, but this is not what the Pirates expected out of Tellez.

Tellez currently has 11 homers on the season, with only three of those coming in the second half of the season, and with the expected power output prior to the season, that isn’t at all where the Pirates want him to be.

When you consider bringing Tellez back for 2025, unlike Chapman, I think it is more about what is available in the organization and outside the organization.

The 2025 free agent class of first baseman isn’t strong, at least for what the Pirates could acquire, headlined like Pete Alonso, Paul Goldschmidt and Christian Walker as the top-three UFA. Anthony Rizzo and Rhys Hoskins have a club option and an opt-out respectively, while Wilmer Flores, Josh Bell, Carlos Santana, Joey Gallo and Tellez round out the class.

Inside the organization, you have Connor Joe, who has slowed down considerably after a hot start, the impending return of Endy Rodriguez, who still has a ton to prove at the MLB level, and lower level prospects who won’t be ready next season, and you wouldn’t like most of them anyways at this point for a team looking to contend.

So, with first base, is Tellez the most realistic option for the Pirates next season? I would argue absolutely, seeing as the price tag won’t be massive, as it wasn’t massive this season, and when considering the free agent options, I’m not sure I am picking half of those players over Tellez and the other half are unattainable financially.

There is always a scenario where the Pirates find a trade partner for a first baseman they believe in, and I am not ruling that either, but if Tellez wants to return, which I imagine he would because I do not expect his market to be massive anways, its a near no-brainer for the Pirates because, at the end of the day, you can do much, much worse than Tellez at the position.

Tellez would also give the Pirates a player they know as well as a security blanket for the position for say, Endy Rodriguez, and if Tellez was the starting first baseman, or in a platoon with Endy or Joe, I wouldn’t tell folks to be elated, but I would implore them that the situation could be way worse, so the likelihood is high that Tellez returns in 2025 in my book.

The Rest

Well, as I started writing this, Michael A. Taylor was on the roster, he no longer is, so that should tell you just about everything you need to know there right now.

Now, with the decision to move Oneil Cruz from shortstop to center field, I would not at all mind Taylor mentoring Cruz defensively at the position, but I don’t expect Taylor back in Pittsburgh next season.

Yasmani Grandal has seen success over the past month and has been a veteran presence behind the plate and helped the catching position with the Henry Davis saga this season, and now with Joey Bart on the IL, Grandal will continue to get playing time.

He should cherish that playing time, because the likelihood of Grandal returning to this team is very low, seeing as his defense has become a massive problem and he doesn’t offer much offensively either, and Bart and Davis will likely man the position in 2025, so there is really no need for Grandal outside of security for depth at the position, which the Pirates can find elsewhere, and on top of that, those options elsewhere would be better.

If Andrew McCutchen doesn’t retire, you could pretty much pen him back as a Pirate in 2025, seeing as at this point in his career, it appears he wants to retire in Pittsburgh and continue on a yearly basis before he hangs up the cleats.

Domingo German may return, but that jury is out there, and outside of that, the trade deadline additions are signed through next season and beyond and will be here, outside of maybe Jalen Beeks.

Consider Chapman and Tellez and their impacts on this 2024 team when we enter the offseason in about a month and ask yourself if you want them back, because the team will surely consider it, and I would not at all be surprised if they return and are impactful in 2025.