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Pirates Sign Two to Avoid Arbitration

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports
By Joe Landolina | Last updated Nov 20, 2025 11:12 PM ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed outfielder Jack Suwinski and pitcher Yohan Ramírez to one-year contracts, avoiding arbitration for both players. Suwinski will get $1.25 million, while Ramírez will receive $875,000. Both came below what they were projected to receive in arbitration. Robert Murray of FanSided broke the news about Suwinski, while Alex Stumpf of mlb.com was first to report about Ramírez.

Pirates Avoid Arbitration with Suwinski and Ramírez

Bringing Suwinski Back a Surprise

As if to illustrate the unpredictability of the baseball offseason, Suwinski and Ramírez were signed when they seemed to be surefire non-tender candidates. Never a hitter for a high average, the left-handed-hitting Suwinski led the 2023 Pirates with 26 home runs. Since then, he’s fallen on hard times. Over 2024 and 2025, he hit .169/.271/.297, 12 HR, and 36 RBI, striking out 136 times in 455 plate appearances. He was up and down from the minor leagues during these seasons. The time in the minors did nothing to improve his hitting. He’s considered a strong defensive outfielder who can be used in all three spots.

Sources: Jack Suwinski and the Pirates have agreed to a one-year, $1.25 million contract to avoid arbitration.

— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) November 20, 2025

Suwinski has clearly been a player who would seem to benefit from a change of scenery. However, he’s apparently not going to get one, and it’s a mystery as to why he’s returning for another season. There are credible rumors that the Pirates were in on Josh Naylor before he inked his deal with the Seattle Mariners and that they are in on Kyle Schwarber as well. Like it or not, however, unless and until general manager Ben Cherington signs a hitter, Suwinski is the closest the Pirates have to a left-handed power hitter.

Return of Ramírez a Head-Scratcher

Ramírez, 30, is the definition of a baseball journeyman. Since the right-hander’s professional career began in 2016, he’s pitched for nine organizations in 20 cities, not counting the Dominican Winter League. He made his major league debut with the Seattle Mariners during the 2020 pandemic-shortened season. He’s pitched in the majors every season since, but never for a full season. For his major league career, he’s 9-12 with a 4.71 ERA, 4.66 FIP, and 1.394 WHIP. With the Pirates in 2025, he was 3-3 with a 5.40 ERA, 3.80 FIP, and 1.470 WHIP. It’s odd that the pitching-rich Pirates think enough of Ramírez to bring him back.

The Pirates have agreed to a contract with RHP Yohan Ramirez to avoid arbitration

— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) November 21, 2025

As I search for possible reasons for keeping Ramírez on the 40-man roster, I note that he began his career with the Houston Astros, the same organization from which the Pirates poached their new pitching coach, Bill Murphy. Murphy would have been Ramírez’s pitching coach in 2016 in the Gulf Coast League. Might Murphy have had some input here? Might he know something about Ramírez that the rest of us don’t? Inquiring minds want to know.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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