The Pittsburgh Pirates have avoided salary arbitration with right-handed pitcher Drew Hutchison, agreeing on a one-year deal for $2.3 M according to Jon Heyman. Teams have until 1 PM Friday to exchange salary figures with players. The Pirates still have not come to terms with Gerrit Cole, Tony Watson, Jared Hughes, Jordy Mercer and Juan Nicasio, so you can expect more agreements to be announced before tomorrow’s deadline. The Pirates are one of many “file and trial” team, meaning once they exchange figures with a player, then the negotiating ends and they will go to an arbitration hearing.
Drew hutchison, pirates settle at $2.3M
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 13, 2017
Hutchison received a $2.2 M salary last year from the Toronto Blue Jays in his first year of being arbitration eligible. He spent just 37 days in the majors in 2016 and fell short of reaching four full years of service time, so he will still be eligible for arbitration at least two more times before he reaches free agency. In 11.1 September innings with the Pirates, he allowed seven runs on 15 hits and three walks, while picking up ten strikeouts.
UPDATE 10:10 PM: Jon Heyman reports that the Pirates have also avoided arbitration with Jared Hughes, settling at $2.825 M. Hughes gets a bump up from $2.175 M in 2016, when he posted a 3.03 ERA and 4.68 FIP in 59.1 innings over 67 appearances, with 34 strikeouts and a 1.42 WHIP.
Jared Hughes, pirates settle at $2.825M
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 13, 2017