The Pittsburgh Pirates, after expressing interest in first baseman Josh Naylor, are doing the same with designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, while considering infielders Jorge Polanco, Ryan O’Hearn and Kazuma Okamoto as perhaps more realistic free-agent options.
The Miami Marlins are active in the closer market, talking with free-agent right-hander Michael King and other starting pitchers, and are also weighing upgrades at first and third base.
Both teams are perennially bottom-five in payroll. Both have been the subject of past grievances from the Major League Baseball Players Association over their lack of spending, with the Marlins potentially at risk of prompting another for 2025.
In the view of some player agents, the surprising entrances of the Pirates and Marlins into the marketplace are curious and — with the sport’s collective bargaining agreement set to expire after next season — no coincidence.
“There is a possibility of a fight among clubs over revenue sharing, with the smaller markets seeing a greater contribution,” agent Seth Levinson said. “The payors (large-market clubs) will argue that insufficient revenue-sharing funds are being spent on player acquisition.
“Hence, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the smaller markets compete for talent in the free-agent market to convince the payors that they are committed to putting a better product on the field.”
Both the Pirates and Marlins, however, say their sudden willingness to spend, as outlined by people familiar with their plans, is all about opportunity.
The Pirates want to win during National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes’ remaining four seasons of club control. The Marlins, after jumping from 62 wins in 2024 to 79 in ‘25, want to continue their quest to build a perennial contender.
Other factors, though, could be at play.
The unpopularity of both teams in their respective markets is likely a driver, according to an executive with a rival club who was granted anonymity for his candor. The Pirates ranked 26th in attendance last season and the Marlins 28th, ahead of only the two clubs that played in minor-league ballparks. But whether the clubs actually change their behavior or are simply talking big remains to be seen, the executive said.
Pirates owner Bob Nutting speaks with then-Pirates infielder Adam Frazier before the team’s home opener on April 4, 2025, the same day a plane flew a banner above PNC Park imploring Nutting to “Sell the team”. (Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
If the Pirates and Marlins are seeking to justify increased revenue sharing, as Levinson and others suggest, they are assuming the game’s general economic structure will remain intact in the next CBA. The owners, however, are expected to pursue a salary cap that would dramatically change the sport’s entire financial landscape, including revenue sharing.
In any event, the Marlins might be operating with an additional motivation. They could face a fresh grievance from the union because their spending in 2025 did not meet a specified threshold outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
If a team’s final luxury-tax payroll is not one and a half times the amount it receives in a given season from local revenue sharing, it will likely stand a better chance of losing a grievance for not properly using its revenue-sharing money to improve on-field performance, which the CBA requires.
Major League Baseball has not yet released the final luxury-tax payrolls from 2025. But the Marlins were expected to be among the highest revenue-sharing recipients at roughly $70 million if not more, according to people briefed on the league’s revenue-sharing distributions who were not authorized to speak publicly. Public estimates put the Marlins’ final luxury-tax payroll in the $85 million range — well below 150 percent of its revenue-sharing take.
No other team is thought to be in the same position as the Marlins. The Pirates’ final luxury-tax payroll, projected to be in the $105 million range, is expected to satisfy the thresholds outlined by the CBA.
The union can file grievances even against teams that reach the 150 percent standard. But when a club fails to hit the specified number, the burden of proof shifts from the union to the club.
In recent years, such grievances have given the appearance of being stuck in purgatory.
Over 2018-19, the union brought revenue-sharing grievances against the Marlins, Pirates, Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays. The Athletic reported in March of this year that one of the complaints had been dropped, according to people briefed on the process. But the two against Miami remained active at the time. The union declined comment Sunday on the state of the previous complaints.
One club official said the union does not appear interested in aggressively pursuing revenue-sharing complaints. Determining the damages in such grievances can be difficult, which is perhaps one reason the cases have yet to be decided. Often, such matters are settled in collective bargaining, effectively becoming negotiating chips. But outstanding revenue-sharing grievances were not resolved in the most recent round of bargaining, while other types of grievances were.
Having yet to be punished, the Marlins perhaps see little danger in maintaining low payrolls. But while many in the industry expect them to trade their highest-paid player, right-hander Sandy Alcantara, purging his $17.3 million salary would make it that much more difficult for the team to satisfy the thresholds specified in the CBA.
Unless, that is, they spend big this winter.
Skenes was the first pick in the 2023 draft, the National League Rookie of the Year in 2024 and the NL Cy Young winner in ‘25. Yet only now are the Pirates preparing to invest around him. And even then, their largesse will go only so far.
According to Fangraphs, the Pirates ended last season with an estimated cash payroll of $87 million. Trades of closer David Bednar and third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes last July helped drop their estimated 2026 number, including projections for arbitration-eligible players, to $66 million.
A trade of righty Mitch Keller, who is owed $16.5 million next season and under contract for two more after that, would create even greater flexibility.
“We’ve got to deliver more to our fans, to everybody who cares about the team, including the people in our clubhouse,” general manager Ben Cherington said. “It really wasn’t that we weren’t trying to do that the last two offseasons. But in retrospect, you can look at those offseasons as conservative in the outcomes.
“It was not necessarily intentionally that way. But that’s how they ended up. And we’ve got an opportunity. We’ve got pitching. We’ve got young talent coming. It’s just that we’ve got to deliver more. It’s time to do that. It’s past time to do that.”
Like a number of owners, the Pirates’ Bob Nutting has not yet set the 2026 payroll. Within the organization, $100 million is seen as a reasonable target. The closest the Pirates have come to $100 million was in 2016, when they fell just short. But even at that figure, they still might be only bottom 10 in payroll, and only marginally improved.
Considering the team’s goals — the additions of one or two regulars, plus two to four other less proven position players who would add depth — free agents with average annual values in the $10 million to $20 million range are more likely than a major investment into a single player.
The Pirates never actually made an offer to Naylor, according to people briefed on the discussions. Just two weeks after the conclusion of the World Series, Naylor reached agreement with the Seattle Mariners on a five-year contract with an AAV of $18.5 million. The deal happened so quickly, the Pirates did not get seriously involved.
Schwarber is a logical target, at least in terms of fit. Offense is the Pirates’ clear need. Their position players tilt more right-handed than left. PNC Park is well-suited to left-handed hitters. Schwarber not only is left-handed and coming off a 56-homer season, but also the kind of clubhouse leader the Pirates crave on the offensive side.
The addition of Schwarber, whom The Athletic’s Tim Britton projects to sign a five-year contract with an average annual value of $29 million, also might benefit the Pirates if the next CBA includes a salary cap and accompanying salary floor.
To reach the floor, the Pirates almost certainly would need to increase their spending significantly. But club officials cannot operate under the assumption that the sport will adopt a cap/floor system. And Schwarber is drawing interest from more competitive teams, including his most recent one, the Philadelphia Phillies.
Free agents such as O’Hearn, Polanco and Okamoto also might shun the Pirates if offered deals by clubs more likely to contend. Which is why the Pirates also are actively exploring trades, checking in with the St. Louis Cardinals on their available left-handed hitters, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Gorman, and also speaking with other teams.
Skenes, 23, isn’t the Pirates’ only selling point. Their collection of young arms is among the best in the game. Their top prospect, shortstop Konnor Griffin, 19, was the consensus Minor League Player of the Year in 2025, and could open next season on the major-league roster.
The Pirates have yet to ask Skenes to help with their recruitment of free agents, but that day might be coming soon. Club officials believe Skenes not only would be willing to make calls on the team’s behalf, but also would make a compelling case for what the team is trying to accomplish.
At this point, the Pirates need to pull out every stop. If they can’t try with Skenes on their roster, they will never try. And their first two seasons with Skenes already have gone to waste.
The Marlins declined comment for this story, perhaps believing their results in 2025 are enough of a statement on the success of their rebuilding strategies.
Under new manager Clayton McCullough, the Marlins rebounded from a 100-loss campaign to finish four games under .500. Their 54-42 record after June 12 was the sixth-best in the majors, and they topped off their season on the final weekend by helping knock the big-market New York Mets out of the playoffs.
All of this occurred after the Marlins made a number of investments outside of the major-league payroll. Among them: Transforming the weight room at loanDepot Park into the game’s second largest; upgrading their spring facility and player development complex in the Dominican Republic; and assembling what owner Bruce Sherman called “one of the largest front-office staffs” in baseball.
On the field, several of general manager Peter Bendix’s trade acquisitions blossomed. Outfielder Kyle Stowers made the NL All-Star team and finished with 25 homers. Catcher Agustin Ramírez led all rookies with 33 doubles, and became the first rookie catcher with a 20-homer, 10-steal season. Center fielder Jakob Marsee, after making his debut on Aug. 1, led all qualified rookies in hits, extra-base hits and stolen bases.
For the Marlins, then, finding the right veterans to complement their young talent would appear a logical next step. And that is precisely how Bendix explained it earlier this month at the general managers’ meetings in Las Vegas.
“We have put ourselves in a position based on the improvement we made in 2025,” Bendix said. “We think we can put together a really exciting team for 2026 and also continue our quest to build a foundation of talent at all levels that will allow us to stay good for a long period of time.”
The Marlins are wary of blocking young, internal options at first and third, but after finishing 27th overall in homers, recognize the need for more power at those positions. And while they are open to trade offers for Alcantara and Edward Cabrera, they also are considering doubling down on their rotation as a strength and signing a free-agent starting pitcher.
Like the Pirates, who want to move beyond trolling for inexpensive free agents on one-year contracts, the Marlins are aiming higher than they did last offseason, when they signed righty Cal Quantrill to a one-year, $3.5 million deal.
The return of King, a 12th-round Marlins draft pick the previous regime unwisely traded with international bonus money to the New York Yankees in 2017 for first baseman Garrett Cooper and left-hander Caleb Smith, would be fitting. A rotation featuring Alcantara, Cabrera, Eury Pérez and King or another free-agent starter might be among the game’s most formidable. The addition of a closer such as Devin Williams or Ryan Helsley, meanwhile, would fortify the back of the bullpen.
Will the Marlins accomplish all of that? Will they accomplish any of it? As with the Pirates, some rival executives will believe it when they see it. Some also are skeptical that the Pirates’ Nutting and Marlins’ Sherman could survive as owners under a cap/floor system that would force them to spend to a minimum level.
To this point, Nutting has been unmoved by pleas of fans in Pittsburgh for him to sell the team. He is willing to spend now, according to a person briefed on his thinking, because the Pirates have reached a rare moment in time. And with Alcantara another year removed from Tommy John surgery and under club control through 2027, perhaps the same can be said of the Marlins.
The motivation both clubs reference, the opportunity to build momentum, existed before. The difference now is the presence of other potential triggers, from the teams trying to justify a desire for greater revenue sharing to, in the Marlins’ case, avoiding a grievance.
Whatever is compelling the Pirates and Marlins, their increased willingness to spend is a departure. And the futures of both franchises might hinge on the results.
-The Athletic’s Stephen Nesbitt, Sahadev Sharma and Katie Woo contributed to this story
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