Moments ago we heard from Rob Biertempfel that the Pirates were close to a deal with Ronny Cedeno for around $2 M. Dejan Kovacevic has an update that the Pirates are also close to a deal with Jeff Karstens on a one year deal to avoid arbitration. Karstens was the only player who was believed to be on the bubble, at the risk of being non-tendered. No word on his contract details yet, although I’d be surprised if it’s much over $1 M. I estimated $750,000 on the 40-man roster/payroll page.
UPDATE: Dejan Kovacevic reports that Karstens has signed, and received $1.1 M. The 40-man roster/payroll page is updated with the figure.
