The Pittsburgh Pirates have won their arbitration hearing with closer Tony Watson.
Earlier today it was reported that the Pittsburgh Pirates excused reliever Tony Watson from camp activities today to attend his arbitration hearing.
We now know the result of that hearing, as Jeff Passan has reported that the Pirates have won.
Pirates beat Tony Watson in arbitration. He'll earn $5.6M, vs. $6M he sought. Clubs' record in arb so far this year is 7-6. Two cases left.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 16, 2017
Watson was the lone holdout who did not settle from the Pittsburgh Pirates’ list of arbitration-eligible players. Prior to the hearing, Watson filed at $6 million dollars while the club countered at $5.6 million. The Pirates will pay their left-handed reliever exactly that.
Watson is coming off one of the shakiest seasons of his career, even as his final stat lines may not look as bad to the naked eye. Here now is a snapshot look at Watson’s career to date:
table courtesy of Baseball-Reference
Watson, who has spent the entirety of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, saw career worst marks since becoming a full time major leaguer in home runs per nine, runs allowed and SO/W ratio. His 222 appearances in the three years prior to 2016 represented an increase of 12 percent more than the usage of any other single reliever in baseball during that stretch.
It can come as no surprise then, that the Pirates were willing to go to the arbitration table with Watson, as they clearly had a strong case.
Image Credit – Daniel Decker Photography
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