A statement issued Tuesday by Pirates president Frank Coonelly:
"The MLBPA's grievance against the Pirates is patently baseless. We look forward to demonstrating as much to the Arbitrator if the MLBPA continues to pursue this meritless claim. As indicated when the MLBPA first expressed its "concern" in a press release, the Pirates have always invested its revenue sharing receipts in a manner entirely consistent with the Basic Agreement. As previously indicated, our revenue sharing receipts have decreased for seven consecutive seasons while our Major League payroll has more than doubled over this same period. Our revenue sharing receipts are now just a fraction of what we spend on Major League payroll. We also have made significant investments in scouting, signing amateur players, our player development system and our baseball facilities. It is regrettable and that the MLBPA would react to a free agent market that is apparently not to its liking by filing a frivolous grievance against a Club that has continued to invest heavily in all areas of its Baseball Operations notwithstanding steadily diminishing revenue sharing receipts."