The Pirates have ducked an arbitration hearing with Neil Walker by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $5.75MM, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune (Twitter link).
Walker, a client of Excel Sports Management, receives a raise from the $3.3MM salary he received last season as a first-time arb-eligible Super Two player. He had been projected to earn $4.8MM by MLBTR's Matt Swartz, so his agents did well to approach the $6MM mark. Walker will be eligible for arbitration two more times before hitting free agency following the 2016 season.
That’s a $1 million overpay considering he was projected for $4.8 mill in arb. I don’t get it and I don’t like it.
The Pittsburgh kid is an integral part of the Pirates so this was a great sign. Had he not got the apendicitus last year he was on pace to make the NL all star team. With Alverez’s quiet bat last year, Neil picked up the slack in power. If he stays healthy, he’ll earn every bit of the new salary.