Pittsburgh Pirates Non-Tender Two Players, Avoid Arbitration With One

Prior to Friday's deadline, the Pittsburgh Pirates non-tendered two pitchers and avoided arbitration with a third

Friday evening was the deadline for Major League clubs to tender contracts to their arbitration eligible/pre-arbitraiton eligible players for the 2024 season. If a player is not tendered a contract they become a free agent. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, there were two players who were non-tendered.

The two pitchers the Pirates non-tendered were right-handers Osvaldo Bido and Hunter Stratton. With this, they are both now free agents. However, one would likely assume the Pirates would be open to welcoming both of them back on minor league deals.

Both Bido and Stratton made their MLB debuts with the Pirates in 2023. However, they came in very different roles.

Bido originally joined the team as a member of their starting rotation, before transitioning to a long relief/swing-man role out of the bullpen. He was up and down throughout the summer, and was even designated for assignment at one point. All told, Bido posted a 5.86 ERA, 4.10 FIP, 8.9% walk rate, 20.3% strikeout rate, and a 0.71 HR/9 in 50.2 innings pitched across 16 appearances, 9 of which were starts.

Stratton's debut came as a September call-up. In 12.0 MLB innings pitched in September, Stratton posted a 2.25 ERA and a 4.76 FIP. He allowed 2 home runs (1.50 HR/9), walked 6.4% of batters faced, and struck opponents out at a 21.3% clip.