Pirates Make Another Big Free Agent Move, Signing World Series Winner

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been unexpectedly one of the busiest teams this offseason, bringing in a couple of bats to boost their offense, and making serious offers on other big names.

Now they've dipped into the pitching pool, and have signed a once high-end starter with the Houston Astros and owner of a World Series ring, Jose Urquidy.

José Urquidy and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in agreement on a deal, league source tells The Athletic.
— Will Sammon (@WillSammon) February 5, 2026

It's a one-year, $1.5 million deal plus incentives for the 30-year-old. He's reunited in Pittsburgh with pitching coach Bill Murphy from his Astros days.

Tommy John surgery has derailed Urquidy's career for the past couple of seasons, but he seems to have reclaimed his mojo this winter with an excellent showing in the Mexican League, with a 1.09 ERA in 33 innings, and a 35:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

The Tigers had him in their system last year, though he only managed to pitch two innings in the majors, and 21.2 innings in the minors. They declined his $4M option after the season.

Pirates take low-risk, high-reward shot at Jose Urquidy

The Pirates will be the beneficiaries of that, and will take a smart, low-risk, high-reward shot at a pitcher who maintained an ERA below 4.00 for parts of four straight seasons in Houston.

The 30-year-old former Astro posted a 3.81 ERA over 48 starts in 2021 and 2022 and was even more dominating in the postseason those years with a 1.23 ERA.

He underwent right elbow surgery in June 2024 and the Astros placed him on waivers after that season.

He'll try to recapture his status as a promising pitcher with the Pirates. He's not expected to be slotted right into the rotation just yet, but will likely have to build up his arm after pitching just those two innings over the last two major league seasons.