It’s 2010 all over again.
According to a report from Yahoo Sports, the Major League Baseball Players Association is looking into the Pirates’ use of revenue-sharing money after trades of Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole drastically reduced their payroll.
Trading McCutchen to the San Francisco Giants and Cole to the Houston Astros reduced the Pirates’ payroll by about $19 million, including the offset from players who came back in both trades expected to make the major league roster. The Pirates’ current projected payroll (not including Jung Ho Kang’s $3 million salary) is roughly $77 million to $78 million.