Perrotto: Should Pirates Retain Their Two Free Agents? (+)
The Pittsburgh Pirates will be able to bring back most of their roster in 2023 if general manager Ben Cherington desires.
That is a good thing, in a way, because owner Bob Nutting is unlikely to give Cherington much money to spend on payroll again. Cherington as much as said so at the end of the season.
“I don’t believe focusing on payroll is the right thing to focus on in a town like Pittsburgh, in a place where a winning team is not going to be built in a way that is in other places,” he said. “The way we wake up every day and do our work, it’s just not the thing that we think about.”
Thus, there will be no splashes in free agency this winter. Maybe a ripple, at best.
The Pirates have just two players who can become free agent five days after the World Series ends. They are catcher Roberto Perez and outfielder Ben Gamel.
The question is whether the Pirates have any interest in retaining either player.
When it comes to Perez, Cherington said the Pirates are “keeping the door open.” That the Pirates did not send Gamel packing at the trade deadline this year could be a sign they value the 30-year-old’s reputation of being a good clubhouse guy.
The Pirates traded Gold Glove-winning catcher Jacob Stallings to the Miami Marlins last winter then signed Perez to a one-year, $5-million contract.
Give Cherington and his staff credit for trading Stallings at the right time. He had a poor season in 2022, posting -9 defensive runs saved and year after having a whopping 21.
Stallings also did not hit much as he finished with a .223/.292/.292 slash line and four home runs in 114 games.
Perez played well enough in 21 games for the Pirates but sustained a season-ending torn left hamstring May 7. He hit .233/.333/.367 with two homers and three defensive runs saved.
Perez had a seamless recovery and was able to take part in all baseball activities by season’s end. He also stayed with the team throughout his rehab and served as a sounding board for his younger teammates.
There is mutual interest on Perez’s part in returning in 2023.
He reportedly told a Mexican news outlet he would like a multi-year contract. However, things have been lost in translation over the years when it comes to reports from Latin America, so the accuracy could be in question.
It would seem highly unlikely the Pirates would agree to a two-year deal with Perez.
For openers, he will be 34 years old when next season begins. He has also played in just 97 of a possible 384 games over the last three seasons with Cleveland and the Pirates, which works out to 25.2%.
The only way I’d bring Perez back is on a one-year deal with a low guarantee – say $1 million – and chance to make a couple of more mil through performance bonuses.
Gamel had a $1.8-million salary and performed like someone on the lower end of the pay scale. He had a .232/.324/.369 slash line with nine home runs in 115 games.
On a good team, Gamel would be a solid reserve. The Pirates, though, aren’t a good team and could use a player whose .324 on-base percentage ranked third among players with at least 70 plate appearances behind Bryan Reynolds (.345) and Daniel Vogelbach (.338).
Cherington has made improving the Pirates’ OBP an off-season priority. Their .291 team mark this season was 28th among the 30 major league teams.
Furthermore, The Pirates have three inexperienced outfielders on the 40-man roster in Travis Swaggerty, Tucapita Marcano and Canaan Smith-Njigba. None seem ready to be everyday players in the big leagues.
Bringing Gamel back on a one-year deal with only a slight raise would be palatable. So, too, would Perez.
And players on cut-rate deals are always preferred by the owner.
More about:Opinion PBN+ Pirates