Pirates Avoid Arbitration With Chris Stratton

The Pirates avoided arbitration with right-handed pitcher Chris Stratton by agreeing to a $2.7M deal for 2022, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray. This comes $500K over the MLB Trade Rumors projection of $2.2M for the Bucs reliever.

Stratton is in his second of three arbitration years and earns a $1.6M raise for 2022. Stratton will again be eligible for arbitration next season, before reaching free agent eligibility at the conclusion of the 2023 season.

Stratton is in his fourth season in Pittsburgh and has emerged as one of the more reliable options out of the Pirates bullpen. While wearing a Pirates uniform, Stratton has a 3.69 ERA/3.76 FIP in 156 innings. He led the Pirates with seven wins a season ago and posted a 3.63 ERA in 79.1 innings, tops among Pirates relievers and sixth-most in baseball.

Bryan Reynolds is the only other arbitration-eligible player for the Pirates as Kevin Newman and Ben Gamel have both previously agreed to deals.