Perrotto: Why Pirates Signed Adam Frazier, Tommy Pham

BRADENTON, Fla. — Spring training is always the time for optimism.

You know the cliché about every team tied for first place with a 0-0 record. And how the words pitchers and catchers report indicate that winter is almost over.

Well, it’s hard to find optimistic Pittsburgh Pirates’ fans.

They thought general manager Ben Cherington would try to build a contending team around Paul Skenes after the right-hander won National League Rookie of the Year last season and was third in the NL Cy Young Award voting.

Instead, the Pirates’ most notable offseason acquisition was first baseman Spencer Horwitz, who they received in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians by way of the Toronto Blue Jays. Horwitz might not even be in the opening-day lineup after recently undergoing surgery on either his right thumb/hand/wrist.

Adding left fielder Tommy Pham, utility player Adam Frazier and left-handed relievers Caleb Ferguson and Tim Mayza as free agents haven’t sparked a rush on season tickets. Yet Cherington feels the Pirates are better last season when they finished 76-86 for the second consecutive year and in last place in the National League Central.

“We believe we strengthened the team this offseason with the additions we made,” Cherington said. “Believe we’re deeper than we were in November. Believe we’ve added talent in places we want to have talent. We also believe, feel good that we’ve added some toughness and grit at a time when our sole focus should be winning.”

It is noteworthy that Cherington mentioned toughness and grit. Those are antiquated words in a game where general managers rely on analytics and ignore intangibles.

Cherington has a foot on both sides. He understands the importance of advanced metrics but knows the human element matters when a group of players are together from the middle of February through the end of September.

Pham and Frazier are on the opposite end of the personality spectrum.

Pham is one of the few players who tells it like it is and will get into a teammate’s face when necessary. Pham once slapped an opposing player over a fantasy football dispute and was stabbed outside of a strip club in San Diego and survived.

Frazier is a quiet guy who doesn’t stir clubhouse ruckuses. However, Frazier’s teammates respect him because of his professional approach and easygoing manner.

Since the Pirates traded Frazier to the San Diego Padres in 2021, he has thrice been to the postseason. The Pirates haven’t been to the playoffs since 2015. They hope there is a correlation.

“I just think just keep the most important thing the most important thing, that’s to win,” Cherington said. “Obviously know Fraz from his time being here before. I’ve kind of enjoyed, gotten the chance to talk to him I think in each of the offseasons since he left, got into free agency. Keeping those conversations going kind of knowing where he is in his life and his career.

“Just kind of liked the idea of having a player like that who only cares about one thing and happens to care about Pittsburgh and has history here, coming back into our mix and then Tommy obviously doesn’t have history with us but everything I’ve ever heard about Tommy and the due diligence we do is that this guy just cares about one thing and that’s winning and so we like the idea of bringing that element into our clubhouse.”

The Pirates showed last season that learning how to win was high on their to-do list. A 10-game losing streak in August sent them plummeting out of contention.

However, the Pirates need more than leadership from Frazier and Pham. They need bounce-back seasons.

Frazier hit just .202/.282/.294 for the Kansas City Royals in 2024 and Pham’s slash line was .248/.305/.368 for three teams. However, what gives the Pirates hope that both players have something left is Frazier played through a nagging hand injury and Pham missed spring training as he did not sign with the Chicago White Sox until April.

Ultimately, the Pirates need production from Frazier and Pham as much as they need toughness and grit. But it can’t hurt to add players who possess both qualities.