Pittsburgh Pirates: Contractual Information for Non-Roster Invites

Opt-out options for the non-roster players in camp

Photo Credit: WTM

With Spring Training just opening, hope is in the air. With a long (and largely inactive) offseason in the rearview, baseball is back. However, as camp moves along, the allure can start to fade away. As anticipation for the actual season grows, so does the suspense surrounding the final decisions for the roster heading into Opening Day.

Those decisions often involve the fringes of the roster, where Non-Roster Invites (or NRIs) live, scratching and clawing to earn their chance at a roster spot.

Decisions usually involve contractual options, which we are often unaware of. Fortunately, I have some relevant information to share, and hopefully, it can help us understand how some of these final decisions will play out.

The following is a list of NRIs with any known clauses in their contract. It certainly is not an exhaustive list, but it should help to at least shed some light on an often cloudy situation:

Carson Fulmer

Assignment: March 22^nd

Release: June 1^st, July 1^st, August 1^st

Burch Smith

Assignment: March 23^rd, May 1^st

Release: July 15^th

DJ Stewart

Release: March 24^th, June 1^st, August 1^st

Hunter Stratton

Release: March 27^th

Upward Mobility: June 1^st

Tanner Rainey

Release: May 1^st, June 1^st, August 1^st

Nick Solak

Assignment: May 1^st, August 1^st, August 25^th

Bryce Johnson

Release: June 1^st, July 1^st

Assignment: August 1^st

Wilkin Ramos

Assignment: June 1^st, August 1^st

Ryder Ryan

Assignment: June 15^th, July 15^th

Release: August 5^th

Yohan Ramírez

Release: July 1^st, August 1^st

Darick Hall

Assignment: July 15^th

Of course, your first thought may be, “What’s the difference between these things?” If it is, that’s a good question, and while I’m not totally clear, here is a quick explanation based on my best understanding.

Upward mobility and assignment are basically the same (just with different names) in that they allow other teams to offer a player an available roster spot if they choose. The team the player is under contract with has the right of first refusal, in that they can give them a roster spot as well, but otherwise, they have to trade the player to the inquiring team. If there is no interest, the player doesn’t go anywhere.

Opt-outs and Release Clauses allow the player out of the contract if they aren’t on the roster—sometimes there is a distinction whether “roster” means Reserve List (40-man) or Active (26-man).

Usually, these are negotiated into contracts; however, there is one scenario where out clauses are a given. When an XX(B) Free Agent (six-plus years of service and on a roster at the end of the regular season) is signed to a minor league contract at least 10 days before the season, they are granted three opportunities to request their release if not on the roster—four days before the start of the season, May 1^st, and June 1^st. This is the scenario under which Ryan Borucki falls—the only XX(B) free agent the Pirates signed to a minor league deal.

Generally, the most important thing to remember is that these clauses allow the player off-ramps to different opportunities and greener pastures if they don’t find their current situation tenable.

As you can see, these players were listed in order, with the shortest time until decisions need to be made first. Therefore, someone like Fulmer or Smith could be more likely to get a spot before Rainey, if only due to their contractual standing.

But what if these players do make the roster? At that point, their salaries will increase significantly, affecting both them and the team. Here is a list of salaries upon selection for current NRIs, listed as major league salary/minor league salary (after selection), as well as any known incentives:

Ryan Borucki: $1,150,000/$210,000, plus incentives for innings pitched:

40 IP: $50,000

50 IP: $100,000

60 IP: $125,000

70 IP: $150,000

Fulmer: $950,000/$200,000

Hall: $850,000/$198,000

Johnson: $800,000/$192,000

Isaac Mattson: $800,000/$180,000

Rainey: $1,300,000/$230,000, plus incentives for games pitched:

$50,000 for 30, 40, 50, and 60 games pitched

Ramírez: $1,000,000/$180,000

Ryan: $830,000/$198,000

Cam Sanders: $770,000/$150,000

Smith: $1,500,000/$210,000

Solak: $845,000/$180,000

Stewart: $1,150,000/$240,000, plus incentives for plate appearances:

$25,000 for 200 plate appearances

$50,000 for both 250 and 300 plate appearances

$75,000 for 350 and 400 plate appearances

Stratton: $835,000/$210,000

As you can see, with different salaries for time in the minors (after being selected), minor league free agent deals often aren’t guaranteed. In 2023, Chris Owings was guaranteed a prorated $1 million salary after he was selected, but that’s not common.

To illustrate an example, if Nick Solak is selected, he would make $845,000 for as long as he was active, but if he were to clear outright waivers, his salary would be $180,000 while in the minors.

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