Pittsburgh Pirates News: Arbitration and Waiver Claim

CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 24: Corey Dickerson #12 of the Pittsburgh Pirates smiles after their win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 24, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Pittsburgh Pirates won 5-1. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 24: Corey Dickerson #12 of the Pittsburgh Pirates smiles after their win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 24, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Pittsburgh Pirates won 5-1. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) /
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The Pittsburgh Pirates have come to terms with their two arbitration eligible players and have also added a player off waivers.

The deadline to file for arbitration was at 1:00 this afternoon, but news slowly trickled out regarding the two remaining eligible players for the Pirates; Corey Dickerson and Keone Kela.  Dickerson is in his final year of arbitration and Kela is in his penultimate year.

After a season in which Dickerson hit .300/.330/.474 and put up his second consecutive .341 wOBA and 115 wRC+, the 2018 Gold Glove outfielder was projected to earn $8.4 million by MLB Trade Rumors.  According to Robert Murray of The Athletic, Dickerson and the Pirates agreed to an amount of $8.5 million.

Kela, who the Pirates acquired this past July, pitched to a 3.29 ERA, 2.97 FIP, and a 31.1 percent strikeout rate, his third consecutive season with a strikeout rate above 30 percent.  The 25-year-old reliever, who no longer serves as a closer, would certainly be harmed in the arbitration process with a lack of saves.  He was projected to earn $3.2 million by MLB Trade Rumors, and him and the Pirates settled for $3.175 million again according to Murray.

The other arbitration eligible player for the Pirates was Michael Feliz, who agreed to a deal a few weeks back for $850,000 if he is with Pittsburgh and $375,000 if in the minor leagues.  Feliz was projected at $900,000 so all three arbitration eligible players settled for about their projection.

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The other roster move the Pirates made today was claiming Aaron Slegers off waivers from the Minnesota Twins and designating Dario Agrazal for assignment.  The 26-year-old Sleggers stands at 6’10” and 245 pounds, though he only averages around 90 miles per hour on the fastball.  Slegers pitched to a 3.80 ERA, 43.7 percent groundball rate, and a 16.3 percent strikeout rate in 85.3 innings for the Twins Triple-A team last year.  He tossed four games and 13.7 innings for the Twins last year and has a total of eight Major League games in his career.  Agrazal was added to the 40-man roster last season and he pitched to a 3.99 ERA, 49.6 percent groundball rate, and 14.6 percent strikeout rate in Double-A Altoona in 2018.