While the main focus should be on the offense the Pirates first big move was in the bullpen. The organization had an agreement with the two-time All-Star reliever Gregory Soto. The deal was a one-year, $ 7.75 million dollar deal.
Soto gives the Bucs a high-power arm that adds serious depth to their pitching rotation. He is also a southpaw that the bullpen was lacking.
Soto is coming off a campaign where he went 1-5 with a 4.18 ERA over 70 games, totaling 60 1/3 innings with the Baltimore Orioles and
the New York Mets. While his ERA has been north of 4.00 the last three seasons after posting back-to-back All-Star campaigns in 2021 and 2022, most of his peripherals graded out nicely. That includes holding hitters to a 4% barrel rate – which put him in the 97th percentile of pitchers – a 31.5% chase rate and 29.9% whiff rate. That yielded 70 strikeouts and a strong 25.1% strikeout rate.
The lefty has struggled in the past with walking batters, but his experience and his strong strikeout rate should greatly improve a bullpen that struggled at times in the 2025 season.
Missing out on Kyle Schwarber was a tough loss, but it opened up the Pirates again on the free agent market, and while upgrading the offense is a big priority and a necessity, adding a lefty to the mix was very important as well. The bullpen’s potential leverage arms consist of Dennis Santana, Isaac Mattson and Justin Lawrence, all of whom are right-handed, and Soto gives the club someone who can manage lefties. The Pirates selected the contract of lefty reliever Tyler Samaniego earlier this winter, but included him as part of a trade with the Red Sox for Jhostynxon Garcia.
The Bullpen is expected to look very different for the 2026 season. The 2025 closer and setup man David Bednar and reliever Colin Holderman were both traded during the 2025 trade deadline, while reliever prospects Brandan Bidois and Ryan Harbin have had their contracts selected and been added to the roster. Pittsburgh’s first move in the offseason improves on the pitching, but expect them to make moves in the upcoming weeks to work on the offense.
I think it’s a solid move by the Pirates to start off their offseason hunt. I don’t think he is a player that will completely change the season or turn the Pirates into a World Series contender, but he definitely gets them in the right direction. I do hope Pittsburgh gets aggressive on some batters in free agency or through trades, because the offense was more of the issue than the pitching for the 2025 season.
He is an experienced pitcher who has all multiple All-Star appearances, so he will be the leader to a lot of the younger pitchers in the bullpen, which is important. With the deal only being a one-year deal, I think the Pirates made the right move, and I think Soto will fit nicely in the bullpen.
