The Pittsburgh Pirates will non-tender contracts to Connor Joe, Bryan De La Cruz, and Hunter Stratton. Pirates beat reporter Alex Stumpf was the first with the news on Joe and De La Cruz.
Source: The Pirates are expected to non-tender Connor Joe and Bryan De La Cruz.
— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) November 23, 2024
It was Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Noah Hiles who broke the news about Stratton.
Source: The Pirates are non-tendering RHP Hunter Stratton.
— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) November 23, 2024
The deadline for major league teams to tender contracts was 8:00 PM Eastern on Friday. Joe, De La Cruz, and Stratton now become free agents.
Pirates Non-Tender Connor Joe
That the Pirates didn’t tender a contract to Joe comes as a surprise to nobody. He was originally drafted by the Pirates in 2014. He bounced around several organizations before the Pirates reacquired him from the Colorado Rockies in December 2022. In two years with the Rockies, Joe had an OBP of .351. The Pirates liked his on-base skills and gave him significant playing time in 2023 and 2024.
Unfortunately, after April 2024, those on-base skills – and most other offensive skills – weren’t in evidence. At the end of April, Joe was hitting .292/.370/.403, seeing time as the right-handed half of a first base platoon as well as time in the outfield. However, he was virtually invisible for the remainder of 2024, during which he hit .207/.304/.331. He finished the year hitting .228/.320/.368, 9 HR, 36 RBI, and 92 OPS+. At age 32 and arbitration-eligible after earning $2.125 million, he was a clear non-tender candidate.
Pirates Non-Tender Bryan De La Cruz
The Pirates moving on from the right-handed-hitting De La Cruz comes as a mild surprise. On one hand, he disappointed in the black and gold uniform for the two months after he was acquired from the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline. He hit just .200/.220/.294, 3 HR, and 17 RBI as a Pirate. However, between the two teams, he hit 21 home runs in 2024, a plateau reached by only two other Pirates.
De La Cruz, too, was arbitration-eligible for the first time. But he’s only 27 years old and made just $768,000 in 2024. General manager Ben Cherington has his critics – yours truly among them – but give him credit for not being one to save face. He’ll move on from a bad trade rather than compound a mistake.
Pirates Non-Tender Hunter Stratton
Why Cherington moved on from Stratton is a mystery. The right-handed pitcher was a rookie in 2024, making only $800,000. He just turned 28. He was somebody manager Derek Shelton trusted in many high-leverage situations. In 36 games, all in relief, he was 2-1 with one save, five holds, and a 3.58 ERA. What stood out among his numbers were his 1.168 WHP and 4.71 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
However, due to a knee injury, Stratton didn’t pitch after August 22. He underwent surgery in the offseason and will need to prove to his next employer that he’s healthy.
Survivor
Apparently surviving the deadline is shortstop Alika Williams. After hitting just .207/.242/.299 last season, he was rumored to be a non-tender candidate. He may have been saved by the Pirates’ decision to move Oneil Cruz to center field. As things stand now, he’ll be part of the shortstop competition in the spring.
Photo Credit: © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
