PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Pittsburgh Pirates have avoided arbitration with outfielder Corey Dickerson and reliever Keone Kela, reaching one-year deals with both players.
The agreements came before Friday’s scheduled exchange of salary figures.
Dickerson’s deal for 2019 is worth $8.5 million, up from $5.95 million last season. The 29-year-old Dickerson earned the first Gold Glove of his career in 2018 for his lay in left field after being acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay. He hit .300 with 13 home runs and 55 RBIs in 135 games. He also set a career-high with seven outfield assists.
Kela, 24, will receive $3,175,000, an increase from $1.2 million. The right-hander joined the Pirates in a deal at the trade deadline last July. He went 0-1 with a 2.93 ERA in 16 appearances for the Pirates but missed most of September as a precaution due to what the team considered Kela’s heavy workload. He pitched 52 innings in 2018, the highest since he threw 60 1/3 innings as a rookie in 2015.
Pittsburgh also announced it claimed right-handed pitcher Aaron Slegers off waivers from Minnesota. Slegers, 26, went 1-2 with a 5.90 ERA in eight career appearances for the Twins.
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