By Dejan Kovacevic | 10:14 a.m. Wednesday
MILWAUKEE -- Pedro Alvarez, the Pirates' first-round draft pick, is in Downtown Pittsburgh this morning and is expected to sign his contract this afternoon.
The parties agreed to terms on a four-year $6,355,000 contract Sunday night but had been waiting for Major League Baseball and its players' union to settle the union's related grievance. That also is expected to happen soon, possibly today.
UPDATE 4:15 p.m.: MLB, union settle grievance. See main site.
4:40 p.m.: Here is the stuff from our main site:
Major League Baseball announced today that the dispute regarding Pirates first-round selection Pedro Alvarez and Eric Hosmer, first-round pick of the Kansas City Royals, has been resolved by agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association. Both players will be free to begin baseball activities immediately with their clubs.
The agreement with the MLBPA clarifies how the Aug. 15 deadline for signing selections in the draft will be administered in future years. The agreement makes clear that deadline extensions can be made only by agreement between the Commissioner's Office and the MLBPA.
"From the beginning our primary concern was allowing Mr. Alvarez and Mr. Hosmer to begin their professional careers as quickly as possible and this settlement accomplishes that goal," MLB executive vice president of labor relations Rob Manfred said. "We fully support and welcome the changes to the manner in which the August 15th deadline will be administered. We believe that the changes will result in a cleaner and more consistent application of the deadline which is in the best interests of both Clubs and players."
4:43 p.m.: And here is the statement from the union on the same subject:
The Major League Baseball Players Association announced today it has resolved two related grievances recently filed against the Office of the Commissioner. One challenged the unilateral decision of the Commissioner's Office to extend the August 15, 2008 signing deadline for drafted players and the other challenged the Commissioner's directive that removed Eric Hosmer from the field pending resolution of the first grievance.
"The agreement reached today fully satisfies the union's objective, made clear from the outset of this dispute, which was to defend the integrity of its collectively bargained agreements and to make certain that those agreements are respected and honored by the Clubs," stated MLBPA General Counsel, Michael Weiner.
The agreement makes plain that the Commissioner's Office may not unilaterally extend or modify the signing deadline agreed to in collective bargaining. It makes plain that the Arbitration Panel may remedy any future Basic Agreement violation by voiding contracts agreed to or reported after the deadline.
As part of the resolution, Eric Hosmer will be permitted to resume his career with the Kansas City Royals and will be made whole for the time missed. In connection with the resolution of the grievances, Pedro Alvarez and the Pittsburgh Pirates have agreed on a Major League contract, and Pedro will be removed from the Restricted List. The Association wishes Eric and Pedro the best of luck with their professional careers
5:01 p.m.: The Pirates and Alvarez are having a joint news conference -- by phone -- within the next two hours, a clear sign that the contract is done.
5:28 p.m.: The participants in the news conference will be Alvarez, Frank Coonelly and -- here in Milwaukee -- Neal Huntington.
Posted
Sep 24 2008, 04:10 PM
by
Dejan Kovacevic