Pirates Named Landing Spot for Veteran Pitcher
The Pittsburgh Pirates carry a triumvirate of frontline starting pitchers in Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller and Jared Jones, though the bottom of their rotation isn't quite as spotless.
While Pittsburgh's minor league system is inundated with upper-level, high-upside arms such as Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft and Thomas Harrington, there's no guarantee that any of them will be ready to come up to the majors and handle a full workload in 2025.
Bailey Falter is pencilled in as the No. 4 starter, and while he was solid in spurts last season with a 4.48 ERA over 23 outings, poor peripherals across the board suggest that further regression is coming for the left-hander.
Johan Oviedo was reliable in 2023 with a 4.31 ERA across 32 starts totaling 177 2/3 innings, but he missed the entirety of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery. The 26-year-old is a candidate to grab the final rotation spot, though his outlook is murky at best given his health and questions surrounding his effectiveness coming off a major injury.
With that in mind, the Pirates could use an innings-eater with some experience at the back-end, why is why Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller believes the club is a possible surprise landing spot for free agent southpaw Andrew Heaney.
"Heaney will likely land on a team with a big enough budget to justify spending $10M-$15M annually on a No. 3 or No. 4 starter," Miller wrote. "And, well, normally, that doesn't describe the Pirates in any way, shape or form. But they've got some wiggle room as we near the end of what has been an even quieter offseason than usual for them."
Miller provided additional reasoning for connecting the two parties, stating that the Pirates, in theory, should have a subsequent amount of funds left to make a splash for someone of Heaney's caliber.
"After investing more than $30M in one-year deals in each of the past two winters, all Pittsburgh has done this offseason is to re-sign Andrew McCutchen for $5M and add Caleb Ferguson to the bullpen for $3M," Miller wrote. "The Pirates currently have a projected payroll nearly $10M below where they opened last season, and certainly should be a candidate to sign a starting pitcher in Heaney's price range."
A former first-round pick with 1,014 2/3 innings under his belt during an 11-year MLB career, Heaney is coming off a 2024 campaign in which he posted a 4.28 ERA and 2.2 fWAR in 31 starts for the Texas Rangers.
The year prior, he helped Texas win its first World Series in franchise history while finishing the year with a 4.15 ERA across 34 appearances and 147 1/3 frames.
Projected to net a two-year deal worth $24 million at the beginning of the offseason by MLB Trade Rumors, Heaney is the type of player who could help the Pirates establish a winning culture while also having the potential to turn into a valuable trade chip at the deadline should the team fall out of playoff contention.
Pittsburgh, as we know, doesn't have a substantial budget, but splurging for Heaney may just be worth it.
