"They reportedly made a run at Josh Naylor before he re-signed with the Mariners and have been connected to free agent Kyle Schwarber. Per a report from Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic, they are also considering free agents such as Jorge Polanco, Kazuma Okamoto and Ryan O'Hearn. They have also checked in with the Cardinals about trade candidates Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Gorman."
"Per The Athletic, it's possible that is related to the upcoming expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement. The CBA is up just over a year from now and teams may want to look like they are spending their revenue sharing money, in order to keep receiving it in the next CBA."
"However, the report suggests this is likely more of an issue for the Marlins than the Bucs since Pittsburgh got their competitive balance tax number over $105MM in 2025. That was the target for the A's in 2025 as they looked to increase their CBT number in order to avoid a grievance from the MLBPA."
The Pirates are pursuing multiple offensive upgrades for next season, engaging free agents and exploring trade candidates. Reported targets include Josh Naylor (before he re-signed), Kyle Schwarber, Jorge Polanco, Kazuma Okamoto and Ryan O'Hearn, along with Cardinals options Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Gorman. The franchise has historically avoided large multi-year free agent guarantees, with the largest being three years and $39MM to Francisco Liriano. The impending CBA expiration and competitive-balance-tax strategy may influence spending. The club aims to end a postseason drought since 2015 and return to sustained competitiveness.
Read at MLB Trade Rumors
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