ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Tuesday that the Pittsburgh Pirates made a strong push to sign All-Star Josh Naylor before the first baseman re-signed with the Seattle Mariners.
Passan also said that Pittsburgh “is in on” free agent slugger Kyle Schwarber.
One of Passan’s colleagues (baseball reporter Jorge Castillo) listed the Pirates as a “possible landing spot” for free agent first baseman Pete Alonso on Friday.
“This is a long shot, but the Pirates want to spend money on upgrading their offense to complement a strong pitching staff headlined by Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes,” Castillo wrote. “Like the A’s last winter in their quest to upgrade their starting rotation, that could require overpaying for an impact bat. The price of doing business.”
The “Polar Bear” has spent his entire seven-year career with the New York Mets, collecting 264 home runs and 712 RBIs while posting a .253/.341/.516 slash line.
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Alonso is coming off one of his best overall seasons at the plate, leading the Mets in RBIs (126), doubles (41) and total bases (327), while ranking second in home runs (38), hits (170), slugging percentage (.524), OPS (.871) and batting average (career-high .272). The 30-year-old also continues to be one of the most durable players in MLB, playing in all 162 games for the second season in a row.
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