The Pittsburgh Pirates have locked up another piece of their young core, signing left fielder Starling Marte to a six-year contract extension worth $31 million. Marte would have been eligible for salary arbitration after the 2015 season, so the deal which begins immediately locks him up for two pre-arbitration years, all three of his arbitration years and one year of potential free agency. The contract also includes two team options that could see him locked up for eight years in total.
In the 25-year-old Marte, and reigning National League MVP Andrew McCutchen, the Pirates now have two-thirds of their outfield locked in to long term deals, giving them real building blocks for the future. The club hopes that right field prospect Gregory Polanco will soon join them to form a formidable young outfield trio.
In his first full season as a starter, Marte hit .280/.343/.440 with 26 doubles, 10 triples 12 home runs, 35 RBIs, 83 Runs, and 41 steals. He also showed better than average defense in the outfield.
Marte was scheduled to make $512,000 this season but the new deal wipes that contract away and gives him a nice raise.
The Pirates spent most of spring training negotiating an extension with Marte, but the Dominican Republic native rejected their first two offers before finally accepting today’s deal.
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