Pirates reach deal with Liriano, O's agree with pitchers

PITTSBURGH (AP) The Pittsburgh Pirates have completed a one-year contract with Francisco Liriano that was delayed after the left-hander injured his

Francsico Liriano spent parts of seven season with the Twins while also pitching for the Jays and White Sox in 2012 :: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

PITTSBURGH (AP) The Pittsburgh Pirates have completed a one-year contract with Francisco Liriano that was delayed after the left-hander injured his non-pitching arm over the holidays.

The Pirates announced the deal on Friday night and said it also includes a vesting option for the 2014 season.

Pittsburgh had agreed to a $14 million, two-year contract with Liriano in December, pending a physical. But then Liriano got hurt, putting his status with the Pirates in jeopardy.

General manager Neal Huntington would not get into specifics when he talked last month about the nature of the injury, only saying the team remained in contact with Liriano.

The 29-year-old Liriano is 53-54 with a 4.40 ERA in seven major league seasons. He went 6-12 with a 5.34 ERA in 2012 while splitting the season between the Twins and White Sox.

Orioles avoid arbitration with Johnson, Hammel

BALTIMORE (AP) All-Star closer Jim Johnson and pitcher Jason Hammel have agreed to one-year contracts with the Baltimore Orioles.

Both right-handers avoided salary arbitration with the deals announced Friday.

The 29-year-old Johnson led the majors with a franchise-record 51 saves last season. He went 2-1 with a 2.49 ERA and won the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year award.

Johnson asked for $7.1 million in arbitration and was offered $5.7 million when teams and players swapped proposed salaries. He earned $2,775,000 last year.

Hammel, 30, was 8-6 with a 3.43 ERA in 20 starts for Baltimore last season. He requested $8.25 million while the Orioles countered at $5.7 million after he made $4.75 million in 2012, his first season with Baltimore.

The only Orioles player left in arbitration is reliever Darren O'Day. He submitted $3.2 million, with the club at $1.8 million.