The Pittsburgh Pirates made arguably their biggest free agency signing of the offseason, signing Andrew Heaney to a one-year, $5 million deal. Heaney earning $5 million from the Pirates ties him with Andrew McCutchen for the team's richest free agent signing of the offseason, as sad as that is to say.
Source: SP Andrew Heaney and the Pirates are in agreement on a 1-year, $5M deal with incentives. @ByRobertMurray was first on them agreeing to terms.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) February 20, 2025
At this point of the offseason, Heaney was one of the best starting pitchers still available and will make Pittsburgh's biggest strength, its starting pitching, that much more formidable. Heaney will likely slot in behind the star-studded trio of Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, and Jared Jones in the rotation and ahead of Bailey Falter, a capable No. 5 starter.
The southpaw is far from an ace, but pitched to a 4.28 ERA last season in 32 appearances (31 starts) and 160 innings with the Texas Rangers. Anything close to that kind of production would be a bargain at the $5 million salary.
While it's good that the Pirates were able to add another starter to an already stout rotation, it's hard to ignore the fact that the team as currently constructed still has several glaring weaknesses.
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Pirates address biggest strength but ignore weaknesses in latest roster move
Heaney is a solid addition to Pittsburgh's rotation, but this move wasn't one that they had to make. The Pirates still have a good amount of depth, particularly with prospects like Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler who are knocking on the door of the majors. The team not spending that money on areas of weakness is fairly shocking.
The Pirates Opening Day lineup, outside of guys like Bryan Reynolds and Oneill Cruz, leaves a lot to be desired. The team ranked 24th in runs scored, 25th in home runs, and 27th in OPS in 2024. The only starting-caliber bats that they added were Spencer Horwitz, who is currently injured, and Tommy Pham, who is 37 years old and had a .674 OPS in 2024. How did this team not add, say, Jose Iglesias who is still a free agent or Justin Turner who just signed for slightly more than what Heaney did?
Pittsburgh's bullpen also could use some improvements as that unit ranked 27th in the majors with a 4.49 ERA and tied for fourth with 27 blown saves this past season. The only arms signed to MLB deals thus far have been Tim Mayza and Caleb Ferguson, two underwhelming southpaws while they lost Aroldis Chapman and Jalen Beeks - better arms. Could the Pirates really not spend a bit more to get David Robertson and shore up the bullpen a bit?
Again, Heaney, especially at that price, is a solid addition. He is also the fourth starter in a very good rotation, while Pittsburgh is without much to speak of when it comes to a lineup or bullpen. It's a good move, but when the Pirates refuse to address their big weaknesses, it's hard to get excited about it.