Pirates, Walker begin talks for contract extension
SAN DIEGO — Neal Huntington rarely tips his hand about anything, especially when it comes to trades, free agent signings or extending his own players’ contract.
So it was interesting that the Pirates general manager acknowledged Wednesday that the team has begun preliminary talks with second baseman Neil Walker on a contract extension.
“We’d like to have Neil Walker be a lifelong Pittsburgh Pirate,” Huntington said during baseball’s winter meetings at the Manchester Grand Hyatt.
However, a source with knowledge of the situation said the talks are “very preliminary” and the sides are “nowhere close” to an agreement.
It marks the first time the sides have engaged in talks on a multi-year deal since 2011 when the Pirates made an offer to Walker, a Pine-Richland High School graduate, at the same time they signed outfielder Jose Tabata to a six-year, $15-million contract. Walker’s camp was said to be offended by the offer.
Walker has been playing on one-year contacts since then and is eligible for salary arbitration again this winter after coming off the best season of his six-year career. The 29-year-old switch-hitter will likely command a salary of at least $8 million after hitting .271 with 23 home runs in 137 games.
Meanwhile, the Pirates added the bullpen help they were looking for by acquiring left-handed reliever Antonio Bastardo from the Philadelphia Phillies for lefty pitching prospect Joely Rodriguez, who spent last season with Class AA Altoona.
Bastardo, 29, was 5-7 with a 3.94 ERA in 67 games last season. He has a 3.72 career ERA and 11 saves over six years, all with the Phillies, while averaging 11.3 strikeouts and 4.3 walks per nine innings.
Bastardo will take the place of Justin Wilson, who was traded to the New York Yankees for catcher Francisco Cervelli last month, as the second lefty in the bullpen behind Tony Watson.
Bastardo becomes the second player acquired by the Pirates this offseason, along with Cervelli, who served a 50-game suspension in 2013 after being linked to performance-enhancing drugs as part of Major League Baseball’s Biogenesis scandal.
After losing out to the Houston Astros on free agent Pat Neshek on Wednesday, the Pirates would like to add one more right-handed reliever. They have at least some interest in trading for Los Angeles Angels right-hander Kevin Jepsen.