While most of the Pirates’ roster is too young to reach free agency yet, they do have one notable free agent this winter in Yoshi Tsutsugo.
The Pirates are working to try to keep him.
“We have had dialogue with him,” Ben Cherington said Thursday. “We have interest. Certainly enjoyed our time with him. We're obviously getting closer to free agency, and so we'll see. It may be that he gets to free agency.”
Free agency starts five days after the World Series concludes, though Tsutsugo could re-sign with the Pirates before then.
A potential reunion would make sense for both sides. While he cooled off near the end of the season and there are still concerns of if he can consistently hit the fastball, he slashed an impressive .268/.347/.535 with eight home runs and 25 RBIs after being signed in mid-August.
Tsutsugo expressed his desire to play stateside midseason. It’s hard to imagine him drawing big offers after being released twice this past season, and going by MLB Trade Rumors’ arbitration projections, Bryan Reynolds is set to be the Pirates’ highest paid player next year at $4.5 million. Money shouldn't be an issue, and a short-term deal could be mutually beneficial.
If he does return, where would he play?
“We haven't talked about it specific to a position,” Cherington said. “We have an interest in retaining him and are confident if we do that there's an important place on the team for him, and we'll figure it out.”
Tsutsugo primarily played the outfield in his time with the Pirates, but was charged with minus-5 defensive runs saved over just 166 1/3 innings with the Pirates. A full season of that would put him among the worst defenders in the league. Not to mention that the Pirates have a batch of outfield prospects who should make their debut at some point in 2022, including former first-round pick Travis Swaggerty.
He was used at first base, as well. Given that Colin Moran is coming off an injury-filled year where he played at replacement level and is projected to make $4 million in arbitration, it’s fair to speculate if the Pirates would consider moving on from the infielder. First baseman Mason Martin, the Altoona Curve’s Most Valuable Player this past year, will also start next year with Class AAA Indianapolis and should be in position for a midseason promotion.
Of course, the Pirates and other National League teams are expected to have a new tool at their disposal in 2022 with the designated hitter. While nothing about a potential new collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the players' association is guaranteed, the DH is a very safe bet to be included.
Back in 2020, when there was a universal DH to lessen the load for pitchers in the abbreviated season, Derek Shelton said that he preferred to rotate who gets to DH rather than have one set player fill that role, using it a way to get a player off their feet but stay in the lineup. While Moran and Josh Bell got most of the at-bats as the DH that year, Tsutsugo is the type of player who could help fill that niche Shelton described. If an outfielder needs a light day, he could play the outfield for a day. Same for first and third base. Though he didn’t play the hot corner with the Pirates, he has in the past.
The Pirates value defensive versatility, and there are a couple young players who could help fill a true utility role next year, like Hoy Park and Tucupita Marcano. If Tsutsugo does return, he could help provide some depth to the corners while also lengthening the lineup.
PIRATES NEWS
• Cherington says the “full expectation” is that the Pirates will return all remaining members of the 2021 coaching staff next year, though some roles may change.
That still leaves them with finding a new hitting coach, a new third base coach and a manager for Indianapolis after Rick Eckstein, Joey Cora and Brian Esposito were dismissed. They have interviewed hitting coach candidates without a team thus far and will make interview requests for coaches currently with another team next week.
As for third base and the Indianapolis manager, they are looking at internal candidates first.
“Haven’t made any final decisions on that,” Cherington said. “But we felt like we may have some people who are capable and want to give that some consideration first.”
• As expected, Ke’Bryan Hayes met with two specialists who agreed no surgery or “invasive intervention” is necessary for his left hand injury. At the end of the season, Hayes discovered he had a cyst in his left hand, which was contributing to his wrist pain.
He is expected to be ready for spring training.
