Which Pirates players proved to be the biggest bargains in 2019 — and which didn't come close to earning their paycheck?
FanGraphs' Dollars stat offers a clue. Dollars compares a player's actual salary to the value that he generated in terms of Wins Above Replacement (WAR). WAR measures a player's hitting, fielding and baserunning value compared to that of a Quad-A-type player. One win above replacement costs about $8 million on the free-agent market, per FanGraphs' calculations. So, a one WAR player would have a Dollars value of $8 million.
The Pirates' biggest bargains included quality pre-arbitration players like Bryan Reynolds ($25.