10/17/14

Salary Arbitration

This off season, the Pirates have thirteen players eligible for salary arbitration. Of these thirteen players, the most notable are Neil Walker, Josh Harrison, and Tony Watson. All three of these players will most likely be tendered new contracts. Many people argue that Walker is an extension candidate. The 29-year-old second baseman set a career high in home runs with 23 in the 2014 season. It will definitely be interesting to see whether Neil Walker receives a contract extension. Out of the thirteen players, there are a few mysteries. Third baseman Pedro Alvarez is eligible for a second time. He struggled in 2014 and lost his starting role to Josh Harrison. There has been talk that he may be traded. Also, the first base situation for the 2015 season is up in the air. Ike Davis and Gaby Sanchez, both eligible for salary arbitration, had poor performances in 2014. Davis, acquired in a trade with the New York Mets in mid-April, produced a .235 batting average with ten home runs and 46 runs batted in. Sanchez finished the 2014 season with a .229 batting average to go along with seven home runs and 33 runs batted in. There are also two players who are considered non-tender candidates. This means that a team fails to tender that certain player a contract, thus allowing the player to become a free agent. These players are pitchers Jeanmar Gomez and John Axford. Gomez has spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons with the Pirates after being acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Indians. In his two seasons with the Pirates, Gomez put up a record of (5-2) with one save, but had a relatively high earned run average as a member of the Pirates bullpen. Axford, who was claimed off waivers from the Indians in August, appeared in thirteen games with the Pirates and compiled a record of (0-1) with a 4.09 earned run average. The Pirates will have many tough decisions to make throughout the course of the off season.