Arbitration deadline updates

Busy day in Pirates world. First, they finalized their contract with Jung Ho Kang, which you can read about here. Kang received $11 million guaranteed over four years, and that figure includes the buyout of his $5.5 million club option for 2019. 

The Pirates say that they have a few days while Kang’s contract is put into MLB’s system before making a 40-man move. They could also trade someone, including one of their arbitration-eligible players. 

Today is the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to exchange desired salary figures, at 1 p.m. ET. We usually see a ton of deals at this deadline and today is no exception. The Pirates and Chris Stewart avoided arbitration on a one-year, $1,225,000 million contract, according to a person familiar with the contract. 

Per reports, they also settled with Antonio Bastardo for $3.1 million (from CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman) and Francisco Cervelli at $987,500 (from Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal). 

Check back all afternoon for the full updates on the arbitration-eligible players, the effect on the team’s payroll they could have and more on Kang. 

Update 2:32 p.m.: Josh Harrison avoided arbitration on a one-year, $2.8 million contract, according to Heyman. 

Also, according to a person familiar with the contract, the Pirates and Jared Hughes avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1,075,000 contract. 

That leaves seven players -- Sean Rodriguez, Neil Walker, Mark Melancon, Travis Snider, Pedro Alvarez, Tony Watson and Vance Worley -- who either did not settle before the deadline to exchange salary figures, or did and news has not leaked yet. The Pirates are said to be employing a file-and-trial method again this year, meaning they will not negotiate after today and will go to a hearing, but that could always change. 

Update 2:45 p.m.: The Pirates have avoided arbitration with Melancon, who agreed to a one-year contract at $5.4 million, according to a person with knowledge of the contract. 

Update 4:49 p.m.: The Pirates announced that nine players have avoided arbitration with one-year contracts. They are:

LHP Antonio Bastardo

C Francisco Cervelli

INF Josh Harrison

RHP Jared Hughes

RHP Mark Melancon

INF Sean Rodriguez

OF Travis Snider

C Chris Stewart

LHP Tony Watson

Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez and Vance Worley did not avoid arbitration and could be headed to a hearing. 

Mike Perchick, a sports reporter at WAPT in Jackson, Miss., has been rapid-fire tweeting arbitration settlements. It is an odd source of salary figures, but many of them dovetail with other published reports. Perchick reports that Snider settled for $2.1 million, Watson got $1.75 million and Rodriguez got $1.9 million.

Update 9:16 p.m.: Walker filed for $9 million, the Pirates for $8 million. Alvarez filed for $5.75 million, the Pirates at $5.25 million (via WTAP). Worley filed for $2.45 million, the Pirates for $2 million (via Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel).