PITTSBURGH -- Right-handers Jared Hughes and Drew Hutchison agreed to one-year contracts with the Pittsburgh Pirates and avoided salary arbitration.
Hughes gets $2,825,000 under Thursday's deal, up from $2,175,000 last year. Hutchison receives $2.3 million, a raise of $100,000.
The reliable Hughes has been a stabilizing force in the middle of the bullpen, where he often works as a seventh-inning setup man or a fireman whose sinker is called on to help get the Pirates out of trouble when the bases are clogged.
He went 1-1 with a 3.03 ERA in 67 appearances last year.