After this dismal 2024 season ends, the Pittsburgh Pirates will face decisions on three underachieving outfielders eligible for arbitration. The Pirates offense hasn\u2019t been very offensive this year, except to their fans. Entering Thursday, among the 15 National League teams, the Pirates rank 14th in batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS, last in slugging percentage, and 12th in runs scored. The chief culprits are in the Pirates outfield.<\/p>\n
Redoubtable left fielder Bryan Reynolds<\/a> is turning in his usual solid season. For the purposes of this analysis, we won\u2019t consider Oneil Cruz<\/a> and designated hitter Andrew McCutchen<\/a> as outfielders. Cruz moved there recently<\/a> from shortstop and \u201cCutch\u201d has made just five cameo appearances in right field. With these parameters in mind, in 2024, Pirates outfielders not named Reynolds have hit .206\/.275\/.320, 33 HR, and 140 RBI. It\u2019s as if they\u2019ve had Mario Mendoza<\/a> manning two outfield spots on a daily basis.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll discuss only the Pirates outfielders who are eligible for arbitration. My thoughts on pending free agent center fielder Michael A. Taylor<\/a> have already been addressed<\/a> on these pages. Two other Pirates outfielders who significantly underachieved, Jack Suwinski<\/a> and Ji Hwan Bae<\/a>, aren\u2019t arbitration-eligible. Much to the chagrin of some Pirates fans, the guess here is that both will be Pirates property next year, whether in the minor leagues or with the big club. Suwinski led the Pirates with 26 home runs in 2023. The Pirates aren\u2019t likely to turn their back on that. Bae continues to show good on-base skills in the minors, including a .430 OBP this year. As a Pirate, he\u2019s shown nothing to suggest he\u2019s anything more than a Triple-A player, but the Pirates might not move on from a .430 OBP either.<\/p>\n The arbitration process is a curious one, and often risky for the ball club. Players can get a raise just for showing up all year and providing their team a warm, breathing body. Looking ahead to 2025, Reynolds will again be stationed in left field while Cruz will occupy center field, where he\u2019s happy. Cruz had been on record saying that he wanted to be a shortstop. Recently, he said he doesn\u2019t want to return to shortstop. That leaves just right field wide open. Among the competitors will be three arbitration-eligible outfielders who contributed little to the Pirates offense in 2024.<\/p>\nLooking Ahead<\/h3>\n