Francisco Liriano, Pirates agree to terms ... again

Ken Rosenthal reports that Francisco Liriano and the Pirates have agreed to a new two-year contract. Liriano will still make $12.75 million, the original value of the contract, if he isn't hindered by what turned out to be a broken non-pitching arm (the mysterious injury that scuttled the original deal). If that specific injury causes Liriano problems, his salary will decrease, although it isn't yet clear how much.

In any case, the Pirates will now add Liriano to their rotation picture, which also includes A.J. Burnett, Wandy Rodriguez, James McDonald, Jeff Karstens, Jeff Locke and Kyle McPherson. Liriano's health status is, of course, unclear, but if he's healthy I would think the rotation would be Burnett, Rodriguez, McDonald, Liriano and Karstens. That's considerably better than the rotation looked six weeks ago, although there still is a bit of a throwing things at the wall quality, particularly given Liriano's injury situation and Karstens' troubles staying healthy. When there's uncertainty, though, quantity is important, and I like the idea that two of Karstens, Locke and McPherson are likely to begin the year as depth pieces and not as members of the rotation.

As for Liriano, you can read more about him here and here.