The Pirates did not offer contracts to lefty Jeff Locke and catcher Eric Fryer before Friday’s deadline, but they tendered everyone else, including six arbitration-eligible players.
The Pirates also agreed to a contract with a seventh arbitration-eligible player, lefty Wade LeBlanc. They committed to going through the arbitration process with Tony Watson, Juan Nicasio, Jordy Mercer, Jared Hughes, Gerrit Cole and Drew Hutchison.
Friday was the deadline to tender contracts for 2017 to any unsigned players on the roster – anybody not on a long-term contract. The most significant decisions involve arbitration-eligible players because tendering a contract commits the team to the arbitration process, where a panel of arbiters assign a player his salary if the two sides can’t agree.