The Pirates' roster overhaul is presumably done before the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires Wednesday at 11:59 p.m., but not before one more move, non-tendering Chad Kuhl.
The club also came to terms with Kevin Newman, guaranteeing him a roster spot and avoiding arbitration.
According to a source, Newman signed a $1.95 million one-year deal to avoid arbitration. MLB Trade Rumors projected that he would make $2.2 million.
Ben Gamel agreed to a similar deal Monday, signing for $1.8 million with $200,000 available in performance bonuses.
With these two moves, the Pirates' longest-tenured Pirate, Kuhl, was let go, and Newman, who made his major league debut in August of 2018, becomes their longest-tenured MLB player. That was due to a series of roster moves that included trading Jacob Stallings to the Marlins and designating Steven Brault and Colin Moran for assignment to make room on the roster for José Quintana and Yoshi Tsutsugo.
Kuhl, who inherited the longest-tenured title after Gregory Polanco was released in August, had a very odd season. After being named the opening day starter, he struggled for a while before eventually finding his stride in July. That was short-lived though because he tested positive for COVID-19 in early August. After that, he was used as a reliever for the first time in his career to mixed results.
Over 28 appearances, 14 of which were starts, in 2021, Kuhl went 5-7 with a 4.82 ERA with 75 strikeouts over 80 1/3 innings.
Newman was considered a potential non-tender candidate after hitting just .226 with a .574 OPS in 2021. He did earn his first Gold Glove nomination at short, which saved his job, at least for now. He'll face plenty of competition for his shortstop job next year from Cole Tucker and Oneil Cruz.
Once Roberto Pérez's contract is formally announced Wednesday, the Pirates' roster will be at 39 players. The extra spot is because Cody Ponce was released to pursue an opportunity playing baseball in Japan.
In more predictable moves, the Pirates have tendered contracts to Bryan Reynolds and Chris Stratton. It will be Reynolds' first year of arbitration through the Super Two process, and it will be Stratton's second of three years.
