Pirates Sign Mike Edwards

by Charlie Wilmoth on Dec 31, 2005 7:46 PM EST in News

The Pirates have signed outfielder/third baseman Mike Edwards, infielder Gookie Dawkins and catcher Paul Chiaffredo to minor-league deals. Edwards was once a decent prospect, but he apparently stopped getting better in his mid-20s and he isn't the sort of person you want getting 239 at bats, as he did with the Dodgers last year. He is, however, the sort of "outfield depth" the Pirates need - that is, cheap and unlikely to affect Craig Wilson's playing time. Dawkins and Chiaffredo are AAA filler; Chiaffredo was in the Pirates' system last year.

The Pirates also signed Giovanni Carrara to a minor league deal. Carrara will presumably compete for a bullpen spot. He's not young and his peripherals took a serious downward turn next year, but he was good as recently as 2004.

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Minor League deals

They always say "so and so was signed to a minor league deal", but never disclose any terms. What do these guys generally get?

by ILLZ on Dec 31, 2005 8:02 PM EST reply actions

Not a lot

I think a lot of them sign split deals--they make one salary while in the minors, another if they're in the majors. I vaguely recall seeing the numbers for guys like Edwards a few times and it may have been something like $35K or so for time in the minors. Edwards' time in the majors, if any, would probably be prorated to an annual salary slightly over the minimum.

by WTM on Jan 1, 2006 5:16 PM EST reply actions

Minor league deals

The boiler plate minor league contract is $850 a month from March to September. Teams can and do add bonuses for certain levels attained, like an extra $50 for AA. Once a player has MLB service time, however, he makes a minimum salary that was 24,000 a year (pro-rated) - not sure if that is still the same or not.

As for split contracts, it is all negotiable. I have heard of some veteran AAA players making 10,000 a month, but reasonably, a player like Edwards is probably in the 30-40,000 a year range.

by Greg Schuler on Jan 1, 2006 8:13 PM EST reply actions