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Despite rumours that Paul Skenes would like to play for the New York Yankees, the latter has reiterated his desire to win with the Pittsburgh Pirates. And it would appear that the Steel City's representatives are willing to take a step in that direction this off-season, by giving a little support to one of Major League Baseball's top pitchers.
In fact, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Pirates are going to be aggressive on the free agent market this winter by being on the case for several top players available.
https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1990795873518047575
So much so that among the players Pittsburgh is courting is Kyle Schwarber, the National League MVP finalist who spent the last four seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. Yes, you read that right..
Schwarber played all 162 games for the Philadelphia Phillies last year, leading the National League with 56 long balls and all of Major League Baseball with 132 runs produced, in addition to posting an OPS+ of 150.
To put the choice hitter's campaign in context, Schwarber's 56 home runs represent nearly half of the 117 hit by the Pirates in 2025, while his 132 runs produced account for nearly a quarter of their total of 561.
In addition to Schwarber, Passan notes that the Pirates are also interested in Japanese Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto.
As further proof of the Pirates' aggressiveness, we also learn that they had attempted to obtain first baseman Josh Naylor before he returned to the Seattle Mariners on the terms of a five-year pact worth $92.5 million.
Although the Pirates' biggest-ever contract on the free-agent market was a three-year, $39 million deal for Francisco Liriano over a decade ago, Pittsburgh was prepared to spend more than double that amount on Naylor before he decided to stay in Seattle.
It remains to be seen whether, with this strategy, the Pirates will be able to get their hands on a big name in the coming weeks.
But whether they spend or not, the Pirates could bring Konnor Griffin to the Majors as early as 2026. He's the best prospect in baseball, but he's only 19.
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