3 Pittsburgh Pirates free agent reunions we would like to see
The Pittsburgh Pirates have been very active this offseason. It’s a very fresh breath of air for fans who have been begging for something to get done. They’ve acquired Jhostynxon Garcia, Brandon Lowe, Mason Montgomery, Jake Mangum, and signed Ryan O’Hearn and Gregory Soto, all before New Years. With so much offseason left, it’s not out of the question the Pirates continue to make some notable signings, and there are many former Pirates on the market we wouldn’t mind seeing them pursue.
Jose Quintana
Jose Quintana signed with the Pirates prior to the 2022 season. He pitched well for the Bucs, logging a 3.50 ERA with a 20.6% K%, 7.6% BB%, and a HR/9 ratio of 0.6 over 103 innings of work. Quintana was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals during the 2022 trade deadline for Johan Oviedo and Malcolm Nunez, and became a free agent after the season.
Since then, he signed with the New York Mets, whom he spent 2023 and 2024 with, and most recently the Milwaukee Brewers. The veteran left-hander tallied 131 innings with the Pirates’ division rival, putting up a solid 3.96 ERA, albeit with a 4.81 FIP, and 1.29 WHIP. He struck out just 16% of opponents with a 9% walk rate and 1.23 HR/9 ratio. Quintana’s 88.7 MPH exit velocity was in the top 65th percentile of pitchers this year, but his 9.7% barrel rate was in the bottom 24th percentile.
Now Quintana has some clear red flags. He is going into his age-37 season, had a 4.92 xFIP, and 5.04 SIERA. But there is reason to believe he can out-pitch his peripherals again. Between 2023 and 2024, Quintana owned a 3.70 ERA, but a 4.45 xFIP, and 4.62 SIERA. The Southpaw also had a solid 104 Location+ this year, which was the 34th best of the 104 pitchers who threw at least 120 innings in 2025.
A reunion between the Pirates and Quintana has drawn notable interest in recent years.They showed interest in re-signing him after the 2022 season, and again last year before turning their attention to Andrew Heaney. With a need at the back of the rotation, adding a steady lefty veteran in Quintana could be on the Pirates’ radar.
Tyler Anderson
Another steady lefty veteran who once played with the Pirates that could return to Pittsburgh is Tyler Anderson. Anderson spent part of the 2021 season with the Bucs where he owned a 4.31 ERA, 20% strikeout percentage, and a walk rate of only 5.8% in 103 frames. The Pirates then shipped Anderson to the Seattle Mariners for a two prospect package, including Carter Bins and Joauqin Tejada.
He has since kept his talents on the West Coast, spending the 2022 season with the LA Dodgers, then signing with the LA Angels, who he has spent the last three seasons with. Last season, Anderson pitched 131 innings while working to the tune of a 4.56 ERA, 5.60 FIP, and 1.41 WHIP. He had a poor 17.4% strikeout percentage with a 9.5% walk rate, but struggled the most with limiting home runs. Anderson had a 1.85 HR/9 ratio, and his 11% barrel rate was only in the tenth percentile of pitchers.
Anderson’s performance has been all over the place in the 2020s. He had a 93 ERA+ in 2021, a 150 mark in 2023, then down to just 82 in 2023, back up to 110 in 2024, and last year coming in at 94. But one thing you can count on is Anderson’s durability. He has made 30 starts twice over the last five seasons, and has never made fewer than 25 starts in one season.
Like Quintana, Anderson is the sort of veteran soft-tossing lefty Ben Cherington loves. He already signed him once and got respectable results from him. While the Pirates do have a handful of young pitchers, both Quintana and Anderson bring a veteran presence and a steady arm at the back of the Pirates’ rotation.
Miguel Andujar
Miguel Andujar once looked like a long-term building block for the New York Yankees when he finished second place in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2018. Unfortunately, a myriad of injuries derailed his promising start, and he eventually made his way to the Pirates when the Yankees put him on waivers in 2022. Andujar only came to the plate 130 times for the Pirates, turning in a .250/.292/.450 line, and 96 wRC+ between ‘22 and ‘23.
While Andujar showed flashes of potential, the Pirates didn’t see him as a part of their roster after the 2023 season, and put him on waivers after the campaign. He was then picked up by the Athletics, and after about league average numbers at the dish in 2024, he had his best season since his 2018 rookie campaign in 2025.
Andujar racked up 341 plate appearances with the A’s and Cincinnati Reds, slashing .318/.352/.470 with a .354 wOBA, and 125 wRC+. He hit ten home runs with a .153 isolated slugging percentage while rarely striking out. Andujar’s K% came in at just 14%. However, he did not walk very often, with a BB% at 5%. Still, it marked the first time since 2018 he appeared in over half of a season, and had an above-average wRC+.
Andujar’s defense leaves much to be desired. He had -1 defensive run saved and -3 outs above average in only 239 innings in the outfield grass. Andujar also logged 237 innings at the hot corner and had -6 DRS and -4 OAA. Third base was his original position in 2018, and was moved to the outfield corners after he had -22 DRS in his rookie season. While he only has 30.1 career innings at first base in the Major Leagues, the Pirates did put him at 1B often at Triple-A Indianapolis in 2023, where he had 257.1 innings.
The Pirates have a plethora of left-handed bats, some of which like Spencer Horwitz and Oneil Cruz struggle against same-handed pitching. Meanwhile, Andujar has a career .807 OPS vs LHP, and had a .986 mark last season. He would be a decent lower cost part-time bench bat who could help off-set some of the struggles the Pirates may have against left-handed pitching in 2026.
