Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports that the Pirates have been shopping second baseman Neil Walker. The Orioles are among the teams with which the Pirates have had discussions.
Walker, 30, is entering his fourth and final year of arbitration eligibility after earning $8 million this past season. As Passan notes, Walker could earn upwards of $10 million in arbitration. He becomes eligible for free agency after the 2016 season.
This past season, Walker batted .269/.328/.427 with 16 home runs and 71 RBI, which are above-average numbers, particularly for a second baseman. However, by his lofty standards, it was a down year for him. By adjusted OPS (also known as OPS+), which accounts for league and park factors and sets 100 as the average, his 107 graded out as a career-low since he began playing regularly in 2010.