Pirates, Feliz agree to terms for 2019
Dickerson and Kela also tendered deals, will go to arbitration
The Pirates agreed to terms on a 2019 contract with reliever Michael Feliz, avoiding salary arbitration, and tendered contracts for 2019 Friday to all of their unsigned players.
By offering a contract to left fielder Corey Dickerson and reliever Keone Kela, the Pirates committed to go through the arbitration process to determine their 2019 salary.
Teams had until 8 p.m. Friday to offer contracts to players who remain under team control, but do not have a contract that covers the 2019 season. The offers are not for a specific dollar amount, but rather a commitment to the player for next season.
Players not offered a contract by the deadline are “non-tendered” and become free agents.
Feliz, 25, was a possible non-tender candidate because of his performance this past season.
He struggled with his slider, relying on his fastball for a 5.66 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP in 47⅔ innings. Feliz, who joined the Pirates from Houston in the Gerrit Cole trade, reached arbitration eligibility for the first time this winter.
Feliz agreed to a split contract: He will make $850,00 in the majors and $375,000 in the minors, according to a source.
Dickerson, 29, won a Gold Glove and hit .300 with a .330 on-base percentage and 13 home runs in his first season with the Pirates. He made $5.95 million in his second year of arbitration in 2018 and is projected to earn roughly $8.4 million next year, according to calculations by MLB Trade Rumors, an industry website that tracks transaction news. Dickerson is a free agent after 2019. The Pirates traded for Kela, 25, before the July 31 non-waiver deadline. In 16 games for the Pirates, he struck out 22 in 15⅓ innings and allowed runs in only two games. Kela is in his second year of arbitration and could make around $3 million after earning $1.2 million last season.
Players with at least three years of service time but fewer than the six years required to reach free agency are eligible to have their salary determined through the arbitration process. (So can players who fall just short of three years of service but rank in the top 22 percent among players with between two and three years and who have earned at least 86 days of service time in the previous season; they are known as Super Two players.)
If the team and player cannot agree on a salary before Jan. 12, the sides exchange desired salary figures. Those figures are based on how a player performed in comparison to other players with similar service time.
Players and teams can agree to terms prior to and after exchanging figures, but if they can’t agree, the sides present their case to a panel of three arbitrators between Feb. 1 and Feb. 20.
The panel selects one salary or the other, a process that ensures both proposals are reasonable.
The Pirates employ a principle known as “file-and-trial,” meaning they don’t negotiate with players on one-year contracts after exchanging salary figures. This can save a little bit of money if players would rather settle than go through the hassle of a hearing.