In moves that prove the old adage “if it wasn’t for the last minute, nothing would get done,” the Pirates signed three players to contracts, held on to ten more that were eligible for arbitration, and non-tendered RHP Clay Holmes ahead of the Wednesday night deadline to make those decisions.
Holmes’s non-tendering did come as a bit of a surprise, as the Pirates seemed pretty high on him at the start of last season. In fact, many expected shortstop Erik González to have his head on the non-tender block, given his uneven 2020 performance and the plethora of Pirates infield options.