[kyleb]

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Aramis Ramirez was not going to be a free agent; he was arbitration eligible. The Pirates just didn't want to pay him what he would have won at the hearing. Which is why the Pirates are a terrible organization.

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Not totally true. The Pirates are a terrible organization because they aren't willing to gamble by offering him arbitration and hoping he declines the offer. These are gambles you pretty much have to make; Pittsburgh is a piece of [censored] and Aramis would have probably not accepted arbitration anyway, and in return, the Pirates get a 1st round pick. As it happened, they got nothing.