Pittsburgh Pirates sign Francisco Liriano: 3 years, $39 million

Free agent pitcher Francisco Liriano has reportedly agreed to a 3 year, $39 million deal to return to the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he has spent the previous two seasons.

There had been some speculation that Liriano, 31, could be on the Rangers' radar.  But with the Pirates having made him the qualifying offer, the Rangers would have forfeited their second round pick to sign Liriano, and I don't think they had any interest in giving him the type of contract he ultimately received from the Pirates.

Liriano has been a nice starter for the Pirates, but he has durability issues, having crossed the 162 IP mark necessary to qualify for the ERA title only twice in his career -- and one of those two times was with 162.1 IP in 2014.

In any case, one less starting pitcher on the market.

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