Demilio: If the (Sacramento) A’s Can, the Pirates Can Too

It’s that time of year again. No, not just the holiday season as frigid temperatures and snowflakes take over Western Pennsylvania. But when Pittsburgh Pirates fans understandably voice their frustrations over the team’s lack of spending in free agency.

Since Ben Cherington took over as the team’s general manager five years ago, the Pirates have yet to give a free agent a guaranteed multi-year contract.

Daniel Vogelbach received a club option on a one-year deal signed in March 2022. Jarlín García had a similar structure on his contract the following offseason. Vogelbach was traded at the deadline and García’s option was declined after missing the season with an injury.

In the history of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the largest free agent deal ever signed was Francisco Liriano prior to the start of the 2015 season. Even then, Liriano was involved in a salary-dump trade at the 2016 deadline.

To his credit, owner Bob Nutting has shown an increased willingness to spend money, at least marginally. Over the last few years, Bryan Reynolds, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Mitch Keller all signed long-term extensions to remain in Pittsburgh. But that increased willingness to spend has yet to trickle over to external players.

Given the state of the Pirates, it needs to, and it can.

The Pirates are not a playoff team. They haven’t been a playoff team since 2015 and they haven’t won a postseason series since their iconic World Series triumph over the Baltimore Orioles in 1979.

Homegrown talent matters, but better players are still needed to elevate the Pirates towards a contending team, and it should start this offseason.

No, the Pirates will never spend like the Yankees or Mets or Dodgers or any of the other handful of big-market teams hoping to land superstar Juan Soto in a bidding war that could end up around $700 million.

But the Pirates can make impactful upgrades and spend meaningful dollars to help try and get them back in the playoffs in a largely-open National League Central division.

Take a look at the former Oakland A’s, who will be playing in Sacramento for the next few seasons as they await a new ballpark in glamorous Las Vegas.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the A’s are signing free agent starter Luis Severino to a three-year, $67 million contract. The deal not only sets a franchise record, but far eclipses Liriano’s deal with the Pirates from a decade ago.

Coming off of a 69-93 showing in 2024 combined with the fact that they will be playing regular-season games in a minor-league stadium, it would have been easy for the A’s to punt on free agency and focus on a future in Las Vegas. Instead, they were aggressive with one of the largest contracts to date of the offseason to land a reliable starting pitcher.

And the A’s aren’t alone.

Last offseason, the Kansas City Royals were coming off of a 106-loss season. So what did they do? They locked up an extension with start shortstop Bobby Witt Jr for $288 million, close to three-times bigger than any contract for a Pirates’ player.

In free agency, they signed starting pitchers Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo and others and made the playoffs after improving by 30 games. This offseason, they’ve already re-signed Wacha to a three-year, $51 million deal.

It’s time for the Pirates to follow suit. No more excuses. The fans deserve better and there needs to be urgency to win entering the sixth season under Cherington and Derek Shelton.

The Pirates need to finally spend some money and spend it wisely. And I get it. Players still have to want to come to Pittsburgh. But the A’s are perhaps the least-desirable destination this offseason given the circumstances surrounding their relocation and they still landed one of the better arms available.

With Paul Skenes and an overall strong starting pitching staff, who’s to say they can’t be a surprise playoff team in 2025 if they make meaningful upgrades in other areas?