The Pittsburgh Pirates and the other 29 MLB teams are looking at free agents to sign from across the league.
The Pirates have notoriously been one of the more frugal teams in free agency, but that may change
this year. Bleacher Report writer Tim Kelly believes the Pirates could sign Seattle Mariners infielder Jorge Polanco.
“Polanco will likely seek a two-year deal, and it’s possible based on how he performed this past year that he’ll get it. But for as well as he played this past season, he posted a .724 OPS between 2022 and 2024. He also doesn’t grade out particularly well defensively, as he finished 2025 with minus-two defensive runs saved and minus-two outs above average,” Kelly wrote.
“Even if Polanco has to settle for a one-year deal, he should get a considerable raise from last year.
“It would be easy to say he would make the Pirates too left-handed if you added him to a lineup that already includes Oneil Cruz, Spencer Horwitz and Jack Suwinski, but Polanco actually had reverse splits this past season, hitting .305 against southpaws.
“The 91-loss Pirates can’t be too choosy in trying to put anything resembling a competitive product around NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes.”
Kelly believes the Pirates will ink Polanco to a one-year deal worth $12 million. That isn’t breaking the bank for the Pirates and it would give them another infielder to work with.
If the Pirates can pull off this move, it won’t guarantee much, but it gives them a chance to improve from their 71-91 mark from 2025. At the very worst, the Pirates would get a trade piece for the summer that could net them another prospect or two at the deadline in July.
