The Pittsburgh Pirates signed right-handed relief pitcher Elvis Alvarado to a major league split contract, a source confirmed to TribLive on Tuesday.
The deal with Alvarado, 25, is pending a physical.
Split contracts are different from guaranteed deals and feature varying financial compensation for players based on whether they are in the major or minor leagues.
Alvarado joins the Pirates from the Miami Marlins system, from which he elected free agency Nov. 4.
Last year, the 6-foot-4 Alvarado appeared in 39 games for Miami’s Triple-A affiliate, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, and went 3-4 with a 2.79 ERA and 11 saves over 48 1/3 innings.
Alvarado, whose fastball clocks 98 mph, offers the Pirates a potential big-league bullpen option though the native of Sabaneta, Dominican Republic, has yet to make his MLB debut.
Playing with Estrellas Orientales of the Dominican Winter League this year, Alvarado compiled a 2-2 record and 1.04 ERA in 18 appearances.
He was originally signed to a minor-league contract as an international free agent by the Washington Nationals in 2015.
In 2019, he was traded to the Seattle Mariners, bouncing around their farm system before eventually joining the Detroit Tigers in 2023 on a spring training invitation.
Alvarado’s nomadic journey through the minor leagues has encompassed parts of six seasons and originally began as an outfielder before he transitioned to pitcher.
