Pirates to reunite with All-Star second baseman?

The Pirates are coming off a season that saw the club take some steps forward as young players like Jack Suwinski and Johan Oviedo took steps forward while prospects like Henry Davis and Endy Rodriguez rose to the majors for the first time. Unfortunately, those young players didn’t help Pittsburgh much in the standings as the club finished fourth in the NL Central with a 76-86 record, 16 games back of the division-leading Brewers while key pieces like Oviedo and Rodriguez are expected to miss the 2024 season.

Those obstacles aren’t stopping the Pirates from participating in the shallower end of free agency, however. The club has already inked Rowdy Tellez and brought back Andrew McCutchen to help fill out the lineup, and Kevin Gorman of TribLive relays comments from GM Ben Cherington indicating the club hopes to add at least one more position player to the mix. One player Gorman notes the club has been connected to in the rumor mill is second baseman Adam Frazier, who spent parts of six seasons in Pittsburgh following the club drafting him in the sixth round of the 2013 draft and promoting him to the majors in 2016.

Since the Pirates traded Frazier to the Padres partway through the 2021 season, Frazier struggled with both San Diego and Seattle before catching on with the Orioles on a one-year deal last offseason. Though Frazier saw his playing time reduced somewhat by the presence of young, up-and-coming players like Jordan Westburg vying for playing time at the keystone, he still got semi-regular playing time in Baltimore. In 455 trips to the plate with the Orioles last season, Frazier slashed .240/.300/.396 with a wRC+ of 93, a considerable upgrade over the 80 wRC+ he posted in Seattle the previous year. While approximately league-average offense and rough defense (-15 OAA, -1 DRS) at second base isn’t exactly an impact signing, the addition of Frazier to the Pirates lineup could offer the club a stable, veteran solution at the keystone while not blocking the likes of Nick Gonzalez from taking a step forward and seizing everyday playing time in the majors.