Famously Frugal Pirates Were Willing to Outspend Phillies in Kyle Schwarber Pursuit

The Pirates surprisingly made a high bid to try and lure Kyle Schwarber before he re-signed with Philly.

The Pirates made a significant offer for Kyle Schwarber before he re-signed with the Phillies. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Before Kyle Schwarber re-signed with the Phillies on a five-year, $150 million deal, the slugger—one of the top free agents on the market—was garnering interest from a number of teams including the Reds, Orioles and Pirates.

The Pirates, surprisingly, might have been the most serious team outside of Philadelphia bidding for the slugger’s services. Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci reported Tuesday that according to sources, both the Pirates and Orioles were also offering Schwarber deals in the five-year, $150 million range, and that the Pirates “indicated a willingness to go higher.”

Related: MLB Winter Meetings Live Blog—Phillies Shatter Record With Schwarber Signing

While Schwarber ended up choosing to return to Philadelphia after spending the previous four seasons with the team, the Pirates’ reported offer does display a different competitiveness by their front office. It was previously known that the Pirates had interest in Schwarber, but given their history of low spending in free agency, the fact that they were offering Schwarber was not initially treated as very serious. The Pirates being willing to offer more than he signed for with the Phillies instead shows the contrary, that the Pirates might actually be trying to field a team that can truly compete—even if it means paying a high price to do so.

It makes sense for the Pirates to make this pursuit. After all, they have a franchise piece in ace Paul Skenes, who is coming off his first Cy Young-winning campaign in only his second season. Despite rumors and assertions that Pittsburgh should trade the ace if they don’t make moves to compete, Skenes has expressed that he wants to remain in Pittsburgh and help the Pirates win. Given the Pirates haven’t made the postseason in a decade and Skenes is locked in with Pittsburgh through 2029, they’d be wise not to let his tenure as a Pirate go to waste.

In turn, the Pirates appear to be prioritizing building a winning team around the star pitcher. The Pirates have already traded pitcher Johan Oviedo for promising hitter Jhostynxon Garcia this offseason, and have since looked at some high-priced free agents. It’s unclear whether Pittsburgh will manage to land any of the top players available via free agency or trade, but their pursuit of Schwarber signals a step in the right direction for a franchise that has spent much of this century in the cellar of the National League Central.

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