Pirates agree to 1-year deal with OF Miguel Andujar, 6 arbitration-eligible players tendered offers
The Pittsburgh Pirates avoided arbitration with outfielder Miguel Andujar by agreeing to a one-year contract worth a reported $1.525 million, and tendered contracts to their remaining players Friday, including six eligible for arbitration.
That list includes newly acquired first baseman Ji-Man Choi, middle infielder Kevin Newman, right-handed starters JT Brubaker and Mitch Keller and righty relievers Robert Stephenson and Duane Underwood Jr.
The Pirates nontendered catcher Tyler Heineman and left-handed reliever Manny Banuelos, both of whom were designated for assignment on Tuesday. Righty reliever Junior Fernandez was claimed off waivers by the Yankees after being designated for assignment on Tuesday.
Andujar, claimed off waivers from the New York Yankees in September, was projected to make $1.7 million by MLBTradeRumors.com. Andujar will receive a $225,000 raise in his second year of arbitration eligibility. He avoided arbitration with the Yankees last year by agreeing to a $1.3 million, one-year contract. Andujar batted .250 with three doubles, a triple and nine RBIs in nine games with the Pirates.
Choi, acquired last week from Tampa Bay, has the highest salary projection of the arbitration-eligible Pirates players, at $4.5 million in his final year of arbitration. Choi made $3.2 million last season, when he batted .233/.341/.388 with 22 doubles, 11 homers and 52 RBIs in 113 games with the Rays. The Pirates acquired Choi in a trade that sent minor league reliever Jack Hartman to the Rays.
Newman is projected at $2.8 million in his second year of arbitration eligibility. He was projected at $2.2 million last year but avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract at $1.95 million. Newman hit .274/.316/.372 with 18 doubles and 24 RBIs this past season, playing shortstop and second base.
Keller and Brubaker each earned $725,000 last season. Keller (5-12, 3.91 ERA), who led Pirates pitchers with 159 innings over 29 starts, is projected to receive $2.4 million. Brubaker (3-12, 4.69), who had a team-best 147 strikeouts, is projected at $2 million.
Stephenson, who averaged 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings in 13 appearances after being claimed off waivers from Colorado, is projected to receive $1.9 million next season in his second year of arbitration. He avoided arbitration with the Rockies by agreeing to a $1.28 million deal last season.
Underwood Jr., who ranked second on the team with 51 appearances but had a 4.40 ERA and 1.45 WHIP, is projected to make $1 million. He earned $725,000 last season.
With Andujar signing, the Pirates now have three players under contract for the 2023 season. Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, who agreed to an eight-year deal worth $70 million, will make $10 million next season. Outfielder Bryan Reynolds will make $6.75 million in the final year of his contract, although he remains eligible for arbitration in 2024 and ‘25.
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.