Pirates sign LeBlanc, give tender to 6 due arbitration
while walking two.
Locke, 29, would have made upward of $4 million in arbitration and the Pirates felt they could find better production for less money. Fryer, 31, filled in after the Pirates suffered injuries at catcher. He was not yet eligible for arbitration. Both become free agents. There are 38 players on the Pirates’ 40-man roster.
The arbitration salaries will add $20 million to $25 million to the Pirates’ 2017 payroll. That would bring their salary commitments next year to between $85 million and $90 million.
Watson, 31, enters his final year of arbitration eligibility. The lefthander transitioned from the setup role to closer after the Pirates traded Mark Melancon. After two seasons with an ERA better than 2.00, Watson regressed — comparatively speaking — this year. He finished with a 3.06 ERA in 672/3 innings and had a 3.86 ERA after becoming the closer. MLB Trade Rumors, a Web site that collects media reports about MLB transactions and publishes arbitration salary projections, estimated that Watson could make almost $6 million in 2017.
Teams that have talked to the Pirates say they are interested in trading either Watson or Antonio Bastardo, another left-handed reliever with one year left before free agency, because Felipe Rivero gives them three lefthanders in the bullpen. The Pirates would prefer to move Bastardo but could get more for Watson.
Nicasio forced the Pirates to put him in the rotation with an outstanding spring training, but the experiment didn’t work: The 30-year-old Nicasio had a 5.83 ERA when the Pirates moved him to the bullpen in mid-June. But the relief role agreed with him. In 54⅔ innings across 39 games, he struck out 73 batters with a 2.96 ERA. MLB Trade Rumors projects he could make around $4.6 million in his third and final year of arbitration.
Hutchison came to the Pirates from Toronto when the Pirates sent Francisco Liriano and his contract, along with two minor leaguers, to the Blue Jays at the trade deadline. In six games, one start, for the Pirates, the 26-year-old Hutchison allowed seven runs and 15 hits in 11⅓ innings. He is projected to make around $2.2 million — the same as he earned this season, after going through arbitration for the first time last winter.
Three different injuries — rib cage, triceps and elbow — affected Cole at various points this season, and he was never quite right. One year after making the All-Star team and finishing fourth in the Cy Young voting, Cole made only 21 starts and had a 3.88 ERA in 116 innings. The 26-year-old could earn more than $4 million in his first year of arbitration.
Because he qualified for Super Two status after the 2014 season, Hughes, 31, enters the third of four arbitration years. MLB Trade Rumors estimates his arbitration salary at $2.5 million. Hughes, like Watson, regressed compared to previous production, posting a 3.03 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in 591/3 innings.
The 30-year-old Mercer hit .256 with a .328 on-base percentage and 11 home runs. The eye test says his defense was comparable to last season, but this season Baseball Info Solutions rated him at minus-nine Defensive Runs Saved. He could earn around $4 million in his second year of arbitration.
Notes
Quantitative analyst Mike Fitzgerald took a job as director of research and development for the Arizona Diamondbacks, . . . Texas claimed righthander Brady Dragmire off waivers from the Pirates Friday. The Pirates sent cash to Toronto for Dragmire, 23, in October.