Examining Pirates Remaining Starting Pitching Options

Entering the offseason, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington needed to add starting pitching to compete in 2024. So far this offseason, the Pirates have made two acquisitions to improve the starting rotation. They traded for Marco Gonzales and signed Martin Perez. Adding two veteran lefties is good. I am all for it, but that is not enough. Here are three starting pitching options the Pirates have looked at and should sign at least one before Spring Training begins. 

Naoyuki Uwasawa 

A few days ago, the Pirates were reportedly showing interest in Japanese right-handed pitcher Naoyuki Uwasawa according to Full Count. Uwasawa must have a contract offered to him by Thursday because of a negotiating deadline for him. A potential contract will more than likely be just for the 2024 season, but that is because he has not pitched in the major leagues yet.

The 29-year-old right hander has six different pitches and has very good command with each pitch. His best pitch is his splitter which is graded a 55 on fangraphs. He also has a 50 graded cutter with his fastball, curveball, and slider all graded a 45. With these pitches, Uwasawa in 2023, managed to maintain a 2.96 earned run average in 170 innings pitched. He also had a 1.13 WHIP which is very impressive overseas. He does not strike out a lot of guys, 124, making him a pitch to contact kind of pitcher. I think Uwasawa would fit right into Oscar Marins scheme with pitch to contact kind of pitchers.

James Paxton

Rumors have swirled around that the Pirates are interested in signing veteran left-handed pitcher James Paxton. The 35-year-old has definitely seen better days in his career, but when healthy can still be a very solid pitcher. Since the 2019 season, Paxton has struggled due to injury, but in 2023, he was healthy for the most part and had a decent season. I believe Paxton would sign with the Pirates for a one year deal worth around nine million.

In 2023, Paxton was able to pitch a decent amount in a season at 96 innings. He has not pitched anywhere near that amount since 2019. He also posted a 4.50 earned run average with 101 strikeouts. His WHIP was decent at 1.31 and his FIP was a 4.68. The ERA and FIP were high but his xERA was a 3.82 and xFIP was a 3.98. His numbers show that he got unlucky on the mound and that inflated his numbers from what they should have been. Adding Paxton would be the third left-handed veteran pick up this offseason. Lefties do pitch well in PNC Park and Oscar Marin does great with one year contract veterans. A James Paxton deal could definitely happen soon.

Yariel Rodriguez 

The last pitcher on my list is right-handed pitcher Yariel Rodriguez. The 26-year-old out of Cuba has been on many teams radar this offseason as both a starting pitcher and a relief pitcher. Yariel has said he would prefer to be a starter and that is what the Pirates want him to be. The Toronto Blue Jays were reported to be the leading team for Rodriguez before the new year. I would expect his contract with the Pirates to be a three-year deal worth close to 27 million. 

In his most recent season, Yariel pitched in the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan. That season he appeared in 54 games and threw 54.2 innings. He was used in Japan as a reliever, but the Pirates still view him as a starting pitcher. In those 54 games, Yariel posted an impressive 1.15 earned run average with 60 strikeouts. He also had a very impressive 0.91 WHIP. His pitch mix includes a very good fastball and slider combination with curveball, changeup, and cutter. His slider is his best pitch, being graded with a 70. Signing Yariel would be huge for this franchise, but transitioning to a starting pitcher is questionable. 

I believe that the Pirates will sign one of the pitchers. Each of them would help the Pirates win in 2024 and help push this franchise to the playoffs. I think our best option would be to sign Naoyuki Uswama as a low-risk high-reward type of player. His pitch arsenal seems to fit in quite perfectly with what our pitching coach, Oscar Marin, can develop. Spring Training is right around the corner, another move to the rotation is bound to happen soon.