The Pirates on Wednesday finalized a deal to reunite with a former All-Star of theirs, Adam Frazier, on a one-year Major League deal. Right-hander Elvis Alvarado was designated for assignment to make room for Frazier, whose deal is worth $1.525 million, sources told MLB.com.

Frazier, a nine-year Major League veteran, spent the first six seasons of his career with the Pirates from 2016-2021. While he was a league-average hitter for the first five seasons of his career, he enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2021, when he was voted as the National League All-Star team’s starting second baseman. The Pirates – firmly in their rebuild by that point – traded him to the Padres for a package of players that included Jack Suwinski at the Trade Deadline.

Frazier has had mixed results since leaving Pittsburgh, though. After down years with the Padres and Mariners in 2021 and 2022, he found some success with the Orioles in 2023, posting a .696 OPS and 1.7 WAR (according to Baseball Reference) in 141 games played. He spent last season with the Royals and transitioned to more of a role player, slashing .202/.282/.294 with four home runs and 22 RBIs over 294 plate appearances.

Despite his down year, Frazier maintained some of the peripherals that have helped him find success throughout his career, such as better than average marks for chase rate (26.4%), whiff rate (18.8%) and finding the sweet spot of the bat for his launch angles (37.9%).

Frazier is projected to be a utility infielder with the Pirates. While he could get some reps in the outfield – he’s played nearly 1,500 innings in the Majors out there – he’s not expected to be their solution in the corner outfield, an area the club has looked to improve this offseason.

Instead, he will likely be a left-hand-hitting option for the infield primarily. Jared Triolo, a right-handed hitter, filled that role for most of 2024 and won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for utility players. Extra infield depth has appeal, especially after the club spent large chunks of the last two seasons without Gold Glove-winning third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. Second baseman Nick Gonzales and shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa also had stints on the injured list in 2024, both lasting roughly a month.

In his career, Frazier has spent most of his time in the infield at second base, though he has logged 61 innings at third base and 26 innings at shortstop, and he played a game at first base for the Royals last season. Frazier was worth -1 Outs Above Average last season, according to Baseball Savant.

The Pirates will need to make a corresponding move to the 40-man roster when Frazier’s deal is finalized.