The Pittsburgh Pirates opened a big hole at third base this summer after trading Ke'Bryan Hayes to the Reds. For the remainder of 2025, they plugged Jared Triolo there to fill the void. While his second-half breakout did earn him a spot in the 2026 plan, the Pirates still could have attempted to add a different starting third baseman.
One name that would have been a dream come true for Pittsburgh would have been Kazuma Okamoto, a slugger from Japan who was initially expected to be posted. It would have been a longshot to add him, of course, as the Pirates do not often hand out big contracts, and he would have likely commanded a decent-sized multi-year deal, roughly equivalent to what the Boston Red Sox gave Masataka Yoshida several winters ago.