Pirates ink David Freese, ensure NL Central will stay competitive
It’s easy to overlook the recent accomplishments of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Despite the fact that the club won 98 games last season, no one is talking about them entering 2016.
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There’s a reason for that. The Pirates didn’t have a splashy offseason like the Chicago Cubs, and aren’t shrouded in a mysterious devil magic aura like the St. Louis Cardinals.
Because the team doesn’t have the same financial muscle as its division mates, the Pirates have had to rely on cheap, high upside signings in order to remain in contention. They accomplished that once again Friday, inking third baseman David Freese to a one-year deal.
At the beginning of the offseason, there was some thought Freese would receive a modest, long-term deal. While he’s not an elite performer, his 2015 slash line of .257/.323/.420 was almost exactly average for his position. Considering he was the only decent option at third to hit the market, it was expected that some team with a major need would spend in order to bring him in.
That wasn’t the case. Freese waited out the market, and like so many other questionable players, had to settle for a cheap, bounce-back deal. He’s reportedly going to make $3 million with Pittsburgh, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, which is essentially nothing in today’s game. All Freese has to do is stay on the field in order to live up to that contract.
No matter what the cost, Freese represents an upgrade over the team’s current options. With Freese entrenched at third, that should free up Josh Harrison to shift over to second base. Harrison has mostly been used as a third baseman and outfielder over his career, but has appeared in 99 games at second. While he didn’t live up to his 2014 breakout, Harrison’s .287/.327/.390 slash line from 2015 will play at second.
That enables the club to start prospect Alen Hanson in the minors. Hanson has rated near the bottom of prospects lists over the past two seasons, but just missed the cut on Baseball America’s 2016 list after hitting .263/.313/.387 at Triple-A last season. Hanson is still just 23, and could play into the Pirates plans if he improves while repeating the level.
In many ways, the Freese signing is the perfect example of how the Pirates have been able to compete the past few seasons despite a limited payroll. The team identifies players who they deem as undervalued in the current market, and have typically hit on those guys.
Over the past few seasons, Russell Martin, Francisco Liriano, Francisco Cervelli and Edinson Volquez have all been brought in as cheap options who have greatly exceeded their expected value. Both Volquez and Martin left for large contracts once their time with Pittsburgh had ended.
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Freese could be the next in that line. With a bounce-back offensive year, he’ll find himself back on an incredibly weak free-agent market. While teams were hesitant to offer him a big deal this time around, he can change minds depending on his performance.
In the end, that probably means the Pirates will only retain Freese’s services for one season. But as long as he does his part, and helps them reach the playoffs once again, they’ll probably be pretty happy with that result.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
