Morning Rundown: Pirates win arbitration case with Johan Oviedo, Elvis Alvarado DFAd, BA Top 30 for Pirates
Pirates win their arbitration case with Johan Oviedo.
The first arbitration results were released on Wednesday. The Pirates received the nod over Johan Oviedo, who submitted a salary of $1.15 million. Oviedo will be paid $850,000 this upcoming season, the total the Pirates submitted.
It was an intriguing case to follow, as Oviedo asked for quite the raise after missing the entire 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery. He pitched well in 2023, his first full year with the Pirates, posting a 4.31 ERA in 177.2 innings pitched.
Another pitcher, Dennis Santana, is the only other Pirate set for arbitration.
To make room for Adam Frazier on the 40-man roster, Elvis Alvarado was designated for assignment.
Alvarado was the Pirates’ first free agent signing of the offseason, giving him a split major league deal. He has yet to pitch in the majors but did flash a fastball that is capable of reaching triple-digits in the minors, although it did come with control issues.
I wrote about Alvarado’s fastball earlier this offseason, as it had a whiff rate of 40% in 2024 while pitching in Triple-A.
Baseball America released their updated Top 30s for each team on Wednesday. Subscribers got an early look at the top 10, but now 11-30 are currently available.
There are a few surprises throughout the list, and the Pirates’ presence in the International market is heavily represented towards the end of the list.
You can check out the article here (paywall).
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Elvis claimed by Oak.
There are about 6-8 guys on the 40 I’d have preferred losing.
In all seriousness, what was the purpose of sending out that survey to fans? I find it strange. They had to have already known how the fanbase feels regarding the direction of the team and the confidence in the current leadership…
Were they just hoping that the critical voices in national, local, and social media were being too harsh and overshadowing the many true diehard fans that are secretly impressed and satisfied with their performance?