The Pirates have announced a 2-year extension with the first and third baseman. Pittsburgh also included a club option for 2019 in the deal – a $6 million one with a $500,000 buyout, per Heyman.
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Freese is already 33 and is a complementary type rather than a star, so at first glance, it seems a bit odd that the Pirates would extend him.
“David has been a consummate professional while producing offensively and playing solid defense atboth third and first base to help this team win games”, said Pirates general manager Neal Huntington. With Pittsburgh three games back of the final Wild Card spot in the West, Freese has provided a consistency and versatility.
Freese’s two-year extension is worth at least $11 million in guaranteed money, according to multiple reports. Their recent trade of Francisco Liriano suggested pretty strongly that a veteran contract gone wrong is a big deal for them, and they already have Francisco Cervelli, who’s still productive but who’s shown signs of wear this year, under contract through 2019. Freese would have more value if he were to get regular at-bats. He’s arguably enjoying a better season than the trio as well.
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He had only made nine over there in his previous seven seasons. But, the Pirates don’t like to spend, and Freese took a discount to keep a good thing going in Pittsburgh, so I’m sure both parties are content with the deal.
