Today at 1:00 PM EST is the deadline for arbitration eligible players and teams to exchange arbitration figures. The Pittsburgh Pirates have 12 players who are eligible for arbitration, and all 12 players officially filed on Tuesday. The Pirates will exchange figures with those 12 players today, or the two sides will come to an agreement prior to the exchange.
In most cases, the Pirates try to work out a deal with the players before the exchange of figures. Last year there were a few deals announced before 1:00 PM, and every other deal was announced between 1-2 PM, with no arbitration eligible players left un-signed. The Pirates have been described as a “file and trial” team, which means that if the two sides can’t reach a deal prior to exchanging figures, then you can bet they will be going to arbitration.
This means there will be a lot of transactions today. I’m guessing the Pirates will want to avoid arbitration with as many players as possible, so expect a lot of deals to be announced this afternoon. We’ll keep track of them all in this post as they are announced. For anyone who doesn’t reach a deal, the exchanged figures will probably be released later today, and will go up in another post. For a projection of what each player is expected to receive in arbitration, check out the 2015 payroll page.
Check back for all of the updates.
UPDATE 10:49 AM: The Pirates settled with Chris Stewart for $1.225 M, according to Jon Heyman.
Chris Stewart, pirates settle at $1,225,000 for 2015
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 16, 2015
Stewart’s projected amount was $1.3 M.
UPDATE 12:40 PM: Heyman says that Antonio Bastardo settled for $3.1 M.
antonio bastardo settles at $3.1M with pirates
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 16, 2015
The estimated amount was $2.8 M, so that’s a bit of an increase over the projections.
UPDATE 12:50 PM: Ken Rosenthal says that the Pirates have agreed with Francisco Cervelli for $987,500.
#Pirates sign Cervelli for $987,500.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 16, 2015
Cervelli was projected to receive $1.1 M. That puts the catching combo of Stewart and Cervelli at around $2.2 M total. When you consider their strong pitch framing will probably combine for at least two wins, then their framing alone will be worth at least 5-6 times their combined contracts.
UPDATE 1:00 PM: We’ve now reached the deadline for players and teams to exchange figures. However, this doesn’t mean there won’t be more deals coming in. Last year there were about four deals that were announced after 1:00 PM. I’m guessing the next hour will be busy, as there are still nine players we haven’t heard about.
UPDATE 1:06 PM: The Pirates have avoided arbitration with Jared Hughes, per Ben Nicholson-Smith.
Source: #Pirates, Jared Hughes avoid arb.
$1.075M in 2015— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) January 16, 2015
Hughes receives $1.075 M, which was close to his expected $1.1 M.
UPDATE 1:11 PM: Here are the guys we’re still waiting on, and their estimated salaries
Neil Walker – $8.6 M
Mark Melancon $5.6 M
Pedro Alvarez – $5.5 M
Vance Worley – $2.9 M
Josh Harrison – $2.2 M
Sean Rodriguez – $2 M
Travis Snider – $2 M
Tony Watson – $2 M
Melancon is an interesting case because the MLBTR estimates had him above $7 M due to the fact that he had a lot of saves and holds in the same season. His figure above reflects their follow-up estimation after a closer look at his situation.
UPDATE 1:20 PM: Josh Harrison receives $2.8 M, per Heyman.
emerging star josh harrison gets $2.8M from pirates
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 16, 2015
That’s the biggest difference so far, with Harrison receiving $600,000 more than his projection.
UPDATE 1:47 PM: It looks like Neil Walker didn’t settle with the Pirates, per Rob Biertempfel.
No deal done by deadline, so it appears #Pirates and Neil Walker will be heading to arbitration hearing next month.
— RobBiertempfel (@RobBiertempfel) January 16, 2015
Walker is projected to receive $8.6 M. As noted above, this likely means that the Pirates will take him to arbitration, since they don’t usually negotiate after today’s deadline.
UPDATE 2:45 PM: Bill Brink says that the Pirates have settled with Mark Melancon for $5.4 M.
#Pirates and Mark Melancon avoid arbitration, settle at $5.4 million, according to a source.
— Bill Brink (@Bill_Brink2) January 16, 2015
That’s much less than the original MLBTR projections of $7.6 M, which seemed to give credit to Melancon for being two different types of pitchers. It’s also less than the updated estimate, by about $200,000. I’m pretty sure this figure makes Melancon the highest paid closer in a single season in Pirates’ history.
UPDATE 4:18 PM: Rob Biertempfel reports that Travis Snider has agreed for $2.1 M.
Travis Snider, #Pirates agree on $2.1M deal.
— RobBiertempfel (@RobBiertempfel) January 16, 2015
That’s just $100,000 above what he was projected to receive. The Pirates are projected to have at least three bench players making $2 M or more, and Snider is one of them. Corey Hart is already signed for $2.5 M. Sean Rodriguez is the only one up in the air, as he is projected to receive $2 M. We haven’t heard whether he has settled yet.
UPDATE 4:42 PM: I’m not familiar with Mike Perchick, but he’s reporting that Sean Rodriguez ($1.9 M) and Tony Watson ($1.75 M) have agreed to terms. Perchick was first on the Snider news as well, and is credited by Jon Heyman as being first on several other deals around the league. Based on his accuracy, I’m assuming these are legit. Here are the tweets.
https://twitter.com/TheREALPerchick/status/556157943461466114
https://twitter.com/TheREALPerchick/status/556164223143641088
Obviously that’s the Pirates, and not the Padres, for Rodriguez. Both of these players were expected to receive $2 M. This means that we’re just waiting on word about Pedro Alvarez and Vance Worley, not to mention an update on Neil Walker.
UPDATE 4:47 PM: The Pirates have officially announced that they’ve agreed to terms with all nine players mentioned above. That leaves Walker, Alvarez, and Worley without deals, and likely heading to arbitration. The Pirates have most likely already exchanged figures with each player. Those figures will probably come out later today.
