Pirates agree to deal with former Tigers, Astros righty pitcher on $1.5 million deal

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been looking to acquire talent this offseason, and while they've come up short on Kyle Schwarber, Framber Valdez, and Eugenio Suarez, they've improved the team in a big way this offseason.

But there's still work to be done. Adding another slugger would be nice, and someone like Marcell Ozuna is worth keeping an eye on. But, pitching is also a need, though maybe not anymore.

According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Pirates are in agreement on a contract with former Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jose Urquidy.

Pirates to sign Urquidy on free agent MLB deal

"Jose Urquidy and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in agreement on a deal, league source tells The Athletic," Sammon reports.

According to Jon Heyman of The New York Post, the Pirates are spending $1.5 million on Urquidy, with incentives to raise the value even higher in 2026.

Urquidy is a 30-year-old veteran right-handed pitcher who helped the Astros win the 2022 World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies. While he pitched in just three innings in the postseason, his 0.00 ERA was a strong figure for Houston.

More: Pirates to sign former Padres, White Sox 3.55 ERA veteran righty on one-year deal

In his big-league career, Urquidy has a 4.00 ERA across 81 games and 70 starts. His best year came in 2021, when he had a 3.62 ERA season across 20 starts for the Astros.

Most recently, after missing the entire 2024 season, Urquidy put up a 7.71 ERA season in two outings across 2.1 innings for the Tigers. He wasn't good, but it was his first action coming off injury.

Now, with this $1.5 million deal with the Pirates, Urquidy will look to get back on track as he's set to factor into the Pirates' rotation in 2026 behind Paul Skenes, Bubba Chandler, and Mitch Keller.

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