MLB Rumors Update Potential Framber Valdez, Marcell Ozuna Landing Spots in Free Agency

One week away before pitchers and catchers for all 30 MLB teams report to spring training, the Pittsburgh Pirates are at least trying to upgrade both their pitching staff and lineup with two notable players still available.

Per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the Pittsburgh Pirates have become "one of the most aggressive clubs" in pursuit of the left-handed pitcher.

Rosenthal added that the Pirates continue to scour the market for potential offensive upgrades, with Marcell Ozuna on their list of targets.

The Pirates have been active this offseason in ways they usually aren't, though they still need to add more impact players. Their list of acquisitions so far includes Brandon Lowe, Ryan O'Hearn and Jhostynxon Garcia.

O'Hearn is the only one of those three players who signed as a free agent. Lowe and Garcia were acquired via trades.

In fairness, Pittsburgh made an aggressive push for Kyle Schwarber in free agency. MLB.com's Alex Stumpf reported on Dec. 9 that the Pirates offered him a franchise-record four-year, $125 million contract before he opted to return to the Philadelphia Phillies on a five-year, $150 million deal.

The Pirates were also involved to some extent in the Pete Alonso sweepstakes before he signed with the Baltimore Orioles. It's unclear if their interest in him ever got to the point that they extended a formal offer.

Valdez, who spent the past eight years with the Houston Astros, is the top remaining free agent still available. He had a 3.66 ERA in 31 starts last season.

Ozuna has been relegated to DH duties over the past two seasons with Atlanta. He hit .232/.355/.400 with 21 homers in 145 games in 2025. He would either have led or tied for the Pirates' team lead in homers and on-base percentage if he played for them last season.

The Pirates got a collective .313 weighted on-base average from the DH spot last year, eighth-worst in MLB at that position. Ozuna's .334 wOBA would have tied for 12th among all teams.

Signing Valdez would strengthen the best part of the roster in Pittsburgh. The rotation is led by 2025 NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, Braxton Ashcroft. Jared Jones, who missed all of last season due to an elbow injury that required internal brace surgery, is on track to return early in 2026.

The Pirates need to do something with a generational talent like Skenes at the top of their rotation. They finished 71-91 last season in his first full year in the big leagues.

Pittsburgh hasn't made the playoffs since 2016, the second-longest streak in MLB after the Los Angeles Angels.