Its been a pretty quiet offseason for the Pirates, with their most prominent moves to date including the acquisition of first baseman (in exchange for righty ) and the re-signing of franchise Brandon Ingram Jersey icon on another one-year, $5MM deal. The Bucs were said last month to be exploring the bullpen and corner outfield markets, and that appears to still be the case. that is one name in whom the Pirates have interest. Verdugo, 29 in May, is coming off a down season with the Yankees his lone season in the Bronx. The former second-rounder and top prospect got out to a big start in his lone Yankees season, slashing .275/.362/.450 through his first 140 plate appearances. He tanked thereafter, posting just a .221/.270/.330 slash over his final 480 trips to the plate. Overall, he finished out the season with a .233/.291/.356 batting line about 17% worse than league-average, by measure of wRC+. Ugly as those results were, they stand as something of an anomaly in contrast with the rest of Verdugos career. While hes never broken out into stardom, Verdugo was a solid regular in the outfield corners from 2019-23, batting a combined .283/.338/.432 in 2448 plate appearances with the Dodgers and Red Sox from 2019-23. Thats only about six percent better than league average, but he coupled that production with quality corner outfield grades (per both Defensive Runs Saved and, to a le ser extent, Outs Above Average). Verdugo has never been a big power bat hes reached a career-high 13 home runs in three different seasons, including 2024 but rarely strikes out (career 15.1%). Hes tied for fifth in the majors in doubles dating back to 2020. Verdugos lack of over-the-fence pop and his middling finish to the 2024 season combine to drag down his earning power in free agency. Given his lackluster 24 showing and his age, he seems likely to take a one-year deal and return to the market next winter, hopefully on the heels of a steadier and more productive performance. Hed still only be entering his age-30 season, an age at which plenty of outfielders find lucrative multi-year deals. Bucs fans may be exhausted with the notion of one-year deals for veteran rebound candidates, but thats the free-agent reality in which the team typically operates under current ownership. Verdugo would fit the bill and fill a position of need. As it stands, Pittsburghs outfield projects to include , shortstop-turned-center-fielder and perhaps , though in-house options like and could get consideration this spring as well. Verdugo would more prominently step into an everyday role alongside Reynolds and Cruz. As things stand, the Pirates projected payroll is a paltry $79MM, . Thats about $8MM south of last years $87MM mark. Having filled their first base need inexpensively via the Horwitz acquisition, there ought to be additional (albeit modest) spending power to bring an outfielder of Verdugos caliber into the fold and perhaps still add a free agent reliever to the mix. Earlier in the offseason, the Phillies signed to a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $10MM. Verdugo is younger but has le s power and defensive upside; a contract in that general range seems po sible, but he doesnt seem likely to command more than that. Dion Waiters Jersey