Francisco Liriano Signs Three-Year Deal With Pittsburgh Pirates

Francisco Liriano has returned to the **Pittsburgh Pirates, signing a three-year deal with the club on Tuesday as the MLB *hot stove gets going at this year’s Winter Meetings.***

Considering how high his upside is when he is right, the Pittsburgh Pirates might have gotten themselves one heck of a bargain with the deal to which they just signed left-handed starting pitcher Francisco Liriano.

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It was presumed that most top and middle tier free agent starting pitchers would wait for Jon Lester and/or Max Scherzer to sign to set the market for them. That’s not necessary in some cases, however, and so the Pirates and Liriano did not bother to wait around to agree to terms on a three-year deal.

The deal was first reported by this year’s teenage reporting sensation, Robert Murray:

Source: Francisco Liriano to the #Pirates on a three-year, $39 million deal.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) December 9, 2014

Liriano has been with the Pirates for the last two seasons. In 2014 he went a misleading 7-10 with a 3.38 ERA in 29 starts. He still struck out hitters at a 9.7 clip, showing that his elite stuff is still there.

There are questions with Francisco Liriano about his consistency and his ability to stay healthy, but when he’s right he is a borderline ace who misses a lot of bats. That kind of upside is hard to come by, and certainly at the price the Pirates just paid.

There is some risk, but it seems well worth it given how good a fit Liriano has been in Pittsburgh up to this point.

Francisco Liriano has returned to the Pittsburgh Pirates, signing a three-year deal with the club on Tuesday as the MLB hot stove gets going at this year’s Winter Meetings.

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Francisco Liriano has returned to the **Pittsburgh Pirates, signing a three-year deal with the club on Tuesday as the MLB *hot stove gets going at this year’s Winter Meetings.***