Pittsburgh

Pirates

There was more than one team interested in Cruz when the Pirates got him from the Marlins at the deadline, but no team was looking to trade for him now after he hit just .200/.220/.294 in 44 games for Pittsburgh. There’s still some promise in De La Cruz’s bat, but through 475 major league games, he’s sporting a 90 OPS+, and he’s a bit of a liability in an outfield corner. If he wants to remain a starter, it’ll probably have to be with a non-contender. The Pirates still have Jack Suwinski as an option, but they will surely be in the market for someone to join Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz in their outfield.

Stratton had a 3.26 ERA in 44 appearances for the Pirates the last two seasons, but he suffered a ruptured patella tendon in August and now the team has decided he’s not worth a 40-man spot. He could stay on a minor league deal.

Strzelecki, a former Brewers prospect, was DFA’d earlier this week. His stuff has gone south somewhat since he debuted with Milwaukee in 2022, but he still has a 3.44 ERA and an 86/30 K/BB in 83 2/3 innings as a big leaguer. He’ll compete for a bullpen spot in spring training, and that he’s out of options will help his case.

Both of these are kind of surprising. Especially so with Joe, since the Pirates always seemed to be big fans of his. De La Cruz struggled after being acquired from Miami and is held back by his lack of defensive value, but as a first-time arbitration-eligible player, he wasn’t going to make a ton of money.

Skenes received 23 out of the 30 first-place votes, with seven going to Jackson Merrill, who finished in second place. Jackson Chourio finished third and Shota Imanaga finished fourth in the NL ROY balloting. Skenes, who is also a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award, put together one of the more memorable rookie campaigns in recent memory after exploding onto the scene in mid-May, allowing three earned runs or fewer in a staggering 22 of 23 starts. The flame-throwing 22-year-old finished last season with a sublime 1.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 170/32 K/BB ratio across 133 innings. He’s the first starting pitcher to claim the senior circuit honors since Jacob deGrom back in 2014. He enters the 2025 campaign as a universally-regarded top three starting pitcher for fantasy purposes.

Rodríguez began the year with the Rangers but pitched to a 7.11 ERA in 31 2/3 innings over 2023 and 2024 and was designated for assignment. The Blue Jays claimed him but Rodríguez posted a 15.43 ERA in four appearances with Toronto and was designated for assignment in the middle of September. The Pirates will hope that they can get him back to the level he showed a few years ago when he showcased the potential to be a solid MLB reliever.

It’s a pretty interesting wrinkle for the Pirates as Strom played a pivotal role last decade in building the Astros juggernaut before a three-year stint with the Diamondbacks. He brings a wealth of experience to a talented Pittsburgh staff headlined by the tandem of Paul Skenes and Jared Jones with top prospect Bubba Chandler on the doorstep of the big leagues.

Jefferies (elbow) and Heller (shoulder) are coming off injuries, while Mattson was a late-season call-up for the Pirates as emergency relief depth. The trio have the ability to elect free agency, but have been removed from Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster heading into the offseason.

Let’s just say we saw this one coming. Gonzales is expected to miss a significant portion of next season after undergoing flexor tendon surgery on his left elbow back in late August. The 32-year-old southpaw will head to free agency after making just seven starts in his lone season with the Pirates.

Cabbage set Triple-A on fire in the Angels organization in 2023, hitting .306 with 30 home runs and 32 steals in 107 games, but he has been unable to carry that production over to MLB action. He has a .209/.245/.331 slash line in 67 MLB games with two home runs, two steals, and a 40.8 percent strikeout rate. The Pirates will hope they can get some production out of him in 2025.