Insider: Pirates Offense Can Improve In 2025
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How the Pittsburgh Pirates approached improving their offense was arguably the top storyline heading into this offseason.
Ultimately, Pittsburgh went with its typical approach of not doing much to move the needle outside of acquiring left-handed hitting first baseman Spencer Horwitz from the Cleveland Guardians. With the Pirates not doing much to improve, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said Pittsburgh will have to bank heavily on players improving and bouncing back from tough seasons in 2024.
Two of the players Hiles noted were third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes and left-handed hitting outfielder Jack Suwinski.
"It's going to come from internal improvement. There's a lot of guys who are coming off of a really bad season last year for one reason or another. You look at Ke'Bryan Hayes, a guy who is one of the best fielders at his position, if not the sport, but has trouble staying healthy." Hiles said.
"And in 2023, when we saw him at full health in the second half of the season, that bat looked better than it ever did. But we never saw that bat in 2024 because he had a lot of health concerns and issues. And if he can stay healthy, then they get some more offensive third base," he continued.
How will the @Pirates offense get better, despite no major help from free agency? @_NoahHiles weighs in on the Pirates offense headed into Spring Training. pic.twitter.com/ALlps7Wzkv
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) February 10, 2025
Hayes, 28, struggled mightily in 2024 after back-to-back seasons posting at least a 4.0 Wins Above Replacement. The former Gold Glove winner batted .233/.283/.290 with four home runs and 25 RBIs and played in just 96 games due to numerous back injuries, including one that shut him down for the rest of the season after Aug. 17. In 2023, Hayes had a career year, hitting 15 home runs and driving in 61 RBIs while slashing .271/.309/.453 and posting a 103 OPS+.
Suwinski hit 19 home runs in his rookie season in 2022 and 26 homers in 2023. That power was nowhere to be found in 2024, as he hit nine home runs and slashed .182/.264/.324 and had a -1.7 WAR across 88 games in the big leagues. The left-handed hitting outfielder was sent down to the minor leagues on July 29 and didn't return to the Pirates for the rest of the season.
"Jack Suwinski was a guy that they depended on for a lot of power last year, and he didn't give them much," Hiles said. "He was coming off of [a] 20-plus home run seasons. He got sent down to Triple-A multiple times and finished the season in Triple-A. He's a huge question mark there. They're going to need him to really step up."
The Pirates' pitching staff, led by reigning Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes, is ready to take the next step, but it won't mean much if the offense doesn't get on track in 2025. If Pittsburgh wants to have its sights set on its first postseason appearance since 2015, Hayes, Suwinski and other players will have to return to form.
"Guys like Suwinski, guys like Henry Davis figuring it out at the major league level, guys like Ke'Bryan Brian Hayes, they're all going to have to rebound after very poor showings in 2024 if this lineup hopes to produce enough runs to make a push for the postseason," Hiles said.
