Jose Tabata gets a long-term deal

According to ESPN.com, the Pirates have signed Jose Tabata to an extension. The deal gives Jose a raise this year (and the next two seasons), buyd out all his arbitration years, and gives the Pirates a club option for each of his first three years of free agency. The breakdown: $500K in 2011 (plus a $1 million signing bonus) $750K in 2012 $1 million in 2013 $3 million in 2014 $4 million in 2015 $4.5 million in 2016 Club options in 2017, 2018, and 2019 that total $22.5 million (specifics unknown, but that’s an average of $7.5M per year) That adds up to $37.25M if all three options are exercised. Tabata, who is just 22, has been impressive so far in the bigs but is still relatively unproven, so extending him seems like a bold risk to take. This is a heck of a deal for the Pirates, though, if Tabata ends up being worth keeping around at all for the next five seasons. It’s an extremely fair deal and very cost-effective for the Bucs–Tabata has been worth roughly $5M t...