The Pittsburgh Pirates exchanged arbitration figures with Neil Walker. Jon Heyman has the details.
neil walker files at $3.6M, #pirates at $3M
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 18, 2013
Walker was projected for $2.9 M, so his estimate salary will go up regardless of which side wins. The two sides could still meet in the middle. They’re only $600,000 apart, so you’d think a deal wouldn’t be hard to reach. Then again, Garrett Jones went to arbitration last year over a difference of $250,000, so nothing is guaranteed.
We still haven’t heard about James McDonald or Garrett Jones. I’ll update this post when those figures are announced.
UPDATE 5:37 PM: Heyman has the details on James McDonald.
james mcdonald files for $3.4M, #pirates at $2.65M
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 18, 2013
McDonald was projected for $3 M, which is about the mid-point of those two figures.
UPDATE 6:41 PM: Still no word on Garrett Jones. The Pirates were $600 K apart with Walker, and $750 K apart with McDonald. Last year they were $250 K apart from Jones, and eventually won in arbitration. He’s currently projected for a $4.4 M salary.
UPDATE 8:31 PM: The Pirates appear to have agreed to terms with Jones.
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
