MLBTR Releases Pirates Arbitration Projections; Bednar Due Healthy Raise

The Pittsburgh Pirates will have nine players due for salary arbitration this offseason.

Though the salary exchange deadline and any necessary hearings won’t take place until well into the offseason, MLB Trade Rumors released its 2025 projected arbitration projections on Tuesday,

Each year, MLBTR releases projected salaries for each arbitration-eligible player on all 30 teams. Though the projections are not an exact science, the outlet gives us a pretty good idea of which each player will make. For the most part, in the general ballpark of the end result.

This offseason, the Pirates will have five players who will hit arbitration for the first time and earn modest raises.

Catcher Joey Bart, who broke out after he was acquired from the Pirates, is projected to make $1.8 million in 2025, which would be a raise of just over $1 million.

After his first full season as an MLB starting pitcher, Bailey Falter is arbitration-eligible as a super two player and is expected to make roughly $2.8 million. Reliever Colin Holderman also qualifies for super two status and is in line to double his salary to $1.4 million.

Typically, players who accumulate three-plus years of service qualify for arbitration-eligibility but there are a handful of players who become arbitration-eligible despite being short of the benchmark — as Falter and Holderman are.

Sticking on the pitching side of things, Johan Oviedo is arbitration-eligible for the first time. The 26-year-old missed the year after undergoing offseason Tommy John surgery but was a key component of the Pirates’ 2023 rotation. MLBTR projects him to earn $1.5 million.

The final first-time Pirates’ player is outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, who struggled after he was acquired from the Miami Marlins. His steep $4 million projection, which is more than five-times what he made in 2024, makes him a non-tender candidate.

There are two middle relievers who are eligible for the second time in Ben Heller ($1 million) and Dennis Santana ($1.8 million). Heller is not expected to last the winter on the 40-man roster. Santana emerged as one of the Pirates’ top relievers after he was claimed off waivers from the New York Yankees.

First baseman/outfielder Connor Joe is also eligible for arbitration for the second year and is projected to earn $3.2 million. Given how the Pirates’ roster is constructed, Joe joins De La Cruz as a potential non-tender candidate.

And finally, two-time All-Star closer David Bednar is in line for the highest salary of any arbitration-eligible Pirates’ player at $6.6 million. That mark would be easily justifiable had he not struggled this season after becoming one of the game’s top relievers from 2021-23.

With his performance this season and the Pirates’ well-known budget constraints, the Pirates have a difficult decision to make when it comes to Bednar. Who could have seen that coming this time last year?