Ben Cherington Swinging & Missing on This Season’s Free Agent Signings
Following back-to-back seasons of 100 losses, the Pittsburgh Pirates showed a 14-win improvement in 2023 by finishing 76-86.
It was an opportunity for general manager Ben Cherington to add some vital pieces this past offseason, in an effort to legitimately compete in 2024.
The Pirates’ main needs heading into the season were first base, catcher, outfield, and starting rotation.
Despite Carlos Santana expressing an interest to return to Pittsburgh, Cherington opted to go in a different direction by signing Rowdy Tellez on a one-year deal for $3.2 million in December.
Tellez has been a disaster offensively. Thru his first 39 games with the Pirates, he has a batting line of .194/.273/.255, and has just one home run. Not shockingly, Tellez is a replacement level player this season, with a -0.6 fWAR.
A season-ending injury to Endy Rodriguez prompted the Pirates to go out and bring in a veteran catcher, to compete alongside Henry Davis. The backstop chosen was Yasmani Grandal, who signed for one-year at $2.5 million in February.
After missing a large portion of spring training due to plantar fasciitis, Grandal rehabbed his way back with the AAA Indianapolis Indians. The 35-year-old would be activated by the Pirates on May 4th, which in turn led to Davis’ demotion to Indianapolis.
Grandal’s defense behind the plate has already cost Pittsburgh games, specifically their most recent series with the Chicago Cubs. On Friday, a perfect relay from Bryan Reynolds & Oneil Cruz should’ve thrown out Nico Hoerner at the plate, but Grandal inexplicably dropped the ball. Another misplay was a passed ball in the 10th inning of the Pirates’ 5-4 loss on Sunday.
Center field was addressed, in the form of Michael A. Taylor, which happened in the middle of spring training on March 16th. It was a reported one-year deal worth $4 million.
Taylor joined the Pirates, with a Gold Glove reputation, as he was a 2021 AL recipient. While the defense has been steady (5 Defensive Runs Saved; 3 Outs Above Average), the offensive figures are abysmal, with a .232/.279/.295 slash line, along with a very high 35.8% strikeout rate. Even with the good defense, Taylor is at a 0.4 fWAR thru 33 games.
In addition to trading for Marco Gonzales, the Pirates inked Martín Pérez to a one-year deal for $8 million on January 5th.
The 33-year-old Pérez has really held his own in the rotation so far, posting a 3.60 ERA and a FIP of 3.42 in eight starts.
Expected to be the Pirates’ biggest strength going into this year was the bullpen. On January 31st, they would make perhaps the most surprising move of the entire MLB offseason by signing Aroldis Chapman at $10.5 million, which set a franchise high for a reliever.
Unfortunately, The Cuban Missile has been a misfire, in his first season in Pittsburgh to this point. He currently has an ERA of 5.27, while his FIP isn’t much better at 5.06. Although Chapman is still racking up strikeouts (24 in 13.2), he’s allowed more walks than innings pitched (17 in 13.2).
Outside of the Martín Pérez signing, the other free agent additions from Cherington have left plenty to be desired.
First base has been a black hole with Tellez, who has the worst OPS among MLB first basemen at .508. To make matters worse, Connor Joe and his .866 OPS isn’t being used there on a regular basis.
Taylor is producing very little offensively as well, with a .574 OPS - second lowest among center fielders.
Given the struggles and eventual demotion of Davis, the Pirates are now going with an aging veteran in Grandal, which really doesn’t serve much of a purpose.
As for Chapman, his value is probably the lowest of his 15-year career, and it doesn’t help matters that he’s owed $10.5 million, if the Cherington wanted to obtain the best possible trade return for him.
While there were a couple moves that seemed to be logical on paper, it’s been mostly Cherington trying to place square pegs in round holes, particularly with the Tellez and Taylor signings. Waste of free agent dollars like this is one of the main reasons why the Pirates aren’t being able to reach that next level into becoming a true contender.