What Is the Future of Jack Suwinski with Pirates?
p/c: Gregory Fisher - USA Today Sports
The 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates struggled immensely on offense. So much so that they struck out a club record 1,506 times. The handwriting on the wall was very visible for Andy Haines, who was fired as the hitting coach on September 30th.
But perhaps no other player personified the Pirates’ offensive struggles this year more than Jack Suwinski.
Following a good season at the plate, in 2023 with the Bucs, Suwinski displayed major regression in ‘24. In 277 plate appearances, he put up a slash line of only .182/.264/.324. Here is the offensive chart from Baseball Savant.
While the bat speed wasn’t an issue for Suwinski this season, he still had trouble barreling up balls consistently, and not being able to square them up. The hard-hit rate was also below average. Despite a good job of not chasing pitches, Suwinski’s Whiff and K rates were equally poor.
In addition to the offensive woes for Suwinski, the defense was a disaster, as he registered -15 Defensive Runs Saved in the outfield (-7 LF; -7 CF; -1 RF). According to The Fielding Bible, Suwinski’s DRS was the worst figure among all National League outfielders.
The Pirates demoted Suwinski for a second time to AAA Indianapolis on July 29th. While with the Indians, he slashed .239/.307/.444, in 202 plate appearances. He was not recalled to Pittsburgh in September, which evidently shows the lack of confidence management has in him.
So where exactly do the Pirates go from here with Suwinski?
Although Suwinski is a year removed from being a three-win player on offense (3.2 oWAR), and having a 113 OPS+, he severely regressed in ‘24. Not even to the level of subpar, but just downright awful.
Suwinski is still a pre-arbitration player this offseason, so while he remains an inexpensive, outfield option, the Pirates should look to upgrade that area, with right field remaining a question mark.
Because Suwinski has a minor league option left, it would make it an easier decision, for Ben Cherington to either sign or acquire a starting right fielder.
There appears to be a decent chance that Suwinski would begin next season at the AAA level. If so, then finding himself as a vital, fixture again in the Pirates’ outfield is going to be a difficult hill to climb.