The Pittsburgh Pirates are hoping to have conversations with second baseman Neil Walker and third baseman Pedro Alvarez about signing long-term deals, team president Frank Coonelly said in an interview with MLB.com.
Pirates want to extend Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez
The two players have been key to a winning season and postseason run in 2013.
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Both players still have three years remaining of team control. Walker is entering his second year of arbitration as a Super Two player while Alvarez is entering his first year of arbitration.
“They’ll both be members of the Pittsburgh Pirates for the next three years, if nothing happens in terms of long-term arrangements,” Coonelly said. “There have been discussions in the past with Neil, and I suspect we’ll have those discussions again, and we look forward to keeping them as key members of the organization.”
The two infielders were key to the Pirates having their first winning season and playoff appearance since 1992 this year.
Walker, 28, hit .251 with a 757 OPS and 16 home runs over 133 regular season games in 2013. He went 2-5 against the Reds in the NL Wild Card game, but has failed to collect a hit over four games in the NLDS. Walker earned $3.3 million in his first arbitration season and will see that number rise next year.
Alvarez, 26, is a former first round pick, chosen second overall by the Pirates in 2008. He was tied with Paul Goldschmidt atop the home run leaderboard in the National League, launching 36 homers. He also led the league in strikeouts and got on base at a .296 clip.
The Pirates have signed players to a contract early in arbitration in the past. Andrew McCutchen inked a six year deal prior to 2012 when he was still under team control for three more seasons.
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