Jan. 29: The Pirates formally announced their reunion with Frazier this morning. Jan. 28: is headed back to the Pirates. The McKinnis Sports client is reportedly in agreement with his old club on a one-year, $1.525MM contract. The team has yet to announce the signing. Frazier, now 33 years old, had a strong six-year run with the Buccos to begin his career, slashing a combined .283/.346/.420 in 2232 plate appearances while posting quality overall defensive grades at both second base and in left field. That stretch culminated with a Dominique Wilkins Jersey huge .324/.388/.448 slash in the first half of the 21 season, with Frazier logging a career-low 10.7% strikeout rate along the way. That resulted in an All-Star nod for Frazier and helped ramp up trade interest while the Pirates operated as deadline sellers. The Padres wound up acquiring Frazier, who was controllable through the 2022 season, in exchange for outfielder , utilityman and righty . Things didnt pan out for Frazier in San Diego, however, and hes never gotten his bat back on track. While he hit for a decent average down the stretch with the Friars, his walk rate and already limited power output tumbled. In 211 plate appearances, he batted .267/.327/.335 about 13% worse than league-average, by measure of wRC+. Rather than pay him a raise in arbitration that winter, the Padres traded him to the Mariners, where his offensive struggles continued. In three and a half seasons since leaving the Pirates, Frazier has suited up for the Padres, Mariners, Orioles and Royals. That covers a span of 1562 plate appearances, during which Frazier sports a tepid .236/.301/.336 batting line (82 wRC+). His 2024 season in Kansas City was the worst of his career; he batted only .202/.282/.294 in 294 plate appearances with the Royals last year and fanned in a career-worst 20.1% of his plate appearances. Though his offense has continued to flounder, Frazier posted solid defensive grades at second base and in the outfield corners last year. His strikeout rate may have been a career-high but was still a couple percentage points lower than league-average, while his 7.5% walk rate was within one percentage point of average. The Pirates have not only a righty-heavy bench mix but more broadly a roster and lineup that skews right-handed. , and switch-hitting are the only lefty bats a sured of frequent playing time in Pittsburgh. Frazier will give the Pirates a familiar face and a contact-oriented left-handed bat to slot into the bench group. With Pittsburgh still facing uncertainty at both second base and in right field, Frazier is a cheap backup plan at either spot. Hes not going to be Plan A for the Pirates at either position, but he can step in at second base if a group of infielders including , , and struggle and force versatile into regular work at shortstop. Reynolds is locked into one outfield corner, but the other options on the 40-man roster right now include Suwinski (who struggled immensely in 2024), and out-of-options . Frazier is the latest in a characteristically budget-friendly string of free agent signings for the Pirates. Pittsburgh has brought franchise icon back on another one-year, $5MM contract his third straight $5MM deal with the Bucs which stands as their largest financial expenditure of the winter. The Pirates have also added lefties ($3MM) and ($1.15MM) on one-year deals, although Mayzas deal was just agreed to yesterday and has yet to be formally announced by the team. an $80.5MM payroll, including Frazier and Mayza, with about $104MM of CBT obligations. The Pirates have long been rumored to be seeking a corner outfield upgrade but have yet to bring in any outside help to fill that glaring need. first reported the Pirates were in agreement with Frazier on a major league deal. had the $1.525MM salary. Terrence Ross Jersey