The Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to one-year contracts with first basemen Garrett Jones and Gaby Sanchez, Friday. Both players were eligible for arbitration.
Jones, 31, agreed to a deal worth $4.5 million, according to a report by The Associated Press. Had Jones made it to arbitration, projections had him at $4.4 million. In 2012, Jones earned $2.25 million, after asking for $2.5 million in arbitration last winter.
Sanchez, 29, agreed to a deal worth $1.75 million, according to the same report by the AP. After earning $483,000 in 2012, Sanchez will see an increase in pay in what will likely be a platoon role. Jones could see time in right field again, depending on the play and health of right fielder Travis Snider, which would open up first base for Sanchez.
Trade speculation has surrounded Jones the entire offseason, but the Pirates front office values Jones "highly," according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
Jones, who hit .274/.516/.832 with 27 home runs and 86 RBI in 2012, spent most of last season batting cleanup behind center fielder Andrew McCutchen. In a lineup that received some of the worst production out of the No. 7 and No. 8 spots, primarily batting Rod Barajas (minus-1.0 WAR) and Clint Barmes (minus-0.4 oWAR) in those spots, the addition of Russell Martin (2.2 oWAR) was aimed at eliminating those concerns.
The acquisitions of first basemen Clint Robinson and Jerry Sands give the Pirates more options at the position going forward, too.
The Pirates still have two remaining arbitration-eligible players, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. On Friday, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that second baseman Neil Walker filed for $3.6 million, while the Pirates filed for $3 million, and starting pitcher James McDonald filed for $3.4 million, while the Pirates filed for $2.65 million.
Some projections estimate that McDonald will receive $3 million and Walker will receive $2.9 million.
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