Perrotto: Have Pirates Done Enough to Improve Offense?

One of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ goals heading into the offseason was upgrading its offense.

General manager Ben Cherington has added three hitters this winter. However, the offense doesn’t seem much better than last season when the Pirates went 76-86 for a second consecutive year while finishing 23rd in MLB in batting average, 24th in runs scored, 25th in home runs and 26th in on-base percentage.

The Pirates’ latest move came Thursday when they agreed to terms with outfielder Tommy Pham on a one-year, $4,025,000 contract as a free agent. The right-handed hitting Pham will presumably be the everyday right fielder or a possible short-side platoon mate with Jack Suwinski or Joshua Palacios.

Pham turns 37 on March 8 and is coming off a below-league-average season offensively, hitting .248/.305/.368 with nine home runs and seven stolen bases in 116 games while playing for the Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals. He had minus-0.2 bWAR.

Pham’s last standout season in the major leagues was in 2019 with the Tampa Bay Rays when he batted .273/.359/.460 with 21 homers and 25 steals in 145 games. That was six years ago.

Part of the reason for Pham’s so-so 2024 season can be traced to him missing spring training. He did not sign with the White Sox until mid-April and had to catch up to the rest of the league.

The Pirates might be able to get double-digit home runs and stolen bases from Pham this year. But it would be much closer to a 10/10 season than 30/30.

Pham could still be a good bench player for a contending team. However, he is not the big bat the Pirates need, and they would likely get more production by just hoping new hitting coach Matt Hague can turn around Suwinski’s career.

Pham’s signing comes two weeks after the Pirates brought Adam Frazier back to Pittsburgh with a one-year, $1,525,000 contract. Frazier started at second base for the National League in the 2021 All-Star Game then was traded to the San Diego Padres shortly after that then bounced to the Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles and Royals. He figures to fill a utility role for the Pirates, though the left-handed hitter could also platoon in right field with Pham.

Frazier has been to the postseason each of the last three seasons and that provides value for a team that hasn’t figured out how to win and often doesn’t pay attention to detail. However, he is 33 and coming off a season in which he hit .202/.282/.294 with four homers for the Royals in 104 games.

Two years ago, Frazier hit 13 homers and stole 11 bases for the Orioles, so there is some hope for a bounceback. However, like Pham, Frazier is not the difference maker the Pirates need in their lineup.

I’ve written about Spencer Horwitz multiple times since the Pirates acquired him from the Toronto Blue Jays via the Cleveland Guardians in a December trade at the Winter Meetings. The left-handed hitter figures to platoon at first base, perhaps with Jared Triolo or rookie Billy Cook.

Horwitz has yet to play a full season in the majors despite being 27, which is concerning. And while I do like his .355 on-base percentage in 425 plate appearances, Horwitz doesn’t project to be someone who hits 20 homers a year or be effective against left-handed pitching.

Again, Horwitz isn’t the much-needed thumper.

The Pirates have an intriguing pitching staff with plenty of upside. It would not shock me if the Pirates finished among the top 12 in MLB in ERA this year after ranking 20th last season.

But I always think back to something long-ago Pirates general manager Larry Doughty told me, “You can’t win a game nothing-nothing.”

No, you cannot. This is why it’s troubling the Pirates haven’t done more to upgrade their offense with spring training less than a week away.

Or even given the appearance of really trying to get better.